In Her Eyes
by bonniegrey
Summary: FBI Agent Emily Prentiss 's world shakes when she needs to step in and take care of her 10 year-old recently fatherless daughter. (After 10 years away full of secrets and lies, both mother and daughter have to learn to deal with loss, family and danger.) ps: i suck at summaries lol just give it a try
1. Chapter 1: Dad?

E. P. Fanfic P1 -

**** hi! Emily Prentiss's 10 year-old daughter moves in with her. Most of the story happens in Virgina/BAU. In the beginning they are in Seattle and some characters from GA appears but nothing major. I hope you guys enjoy and I can't wait to see Emily interacting with her little girl.

Chapter 1: Lies Lies Lies

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Isabella woke up with the noise of the vacuum cleaner coming from the living room. She brushed her teeth, put her dark hair on a pony tail and went downstairs to eat breakfast. When she got to the end of the stairs she saw her dad cleaning the couch.

"Dad? What are you doing?" The little brunette girl asked.

"Good morning honey. I let some crumbs fall all over this" he said laughing and Isabella laughed too.

"There's apple juice waiting for you" he said.

Apple juice was one of Bella's favorite.

She smile and headed to the kitchen counter. She had breakfast while John finished cleaning the couch which took about 5 minutes.

After John was done he sat next to her in the kitchen.

"I have a surgery this afternoon. Do you want to go to the hospital with me?" He asked.

"How long will it be?" She asked with a look of wonder.

"I don't know about 4 hours maybe" he answered. Bella looked interested.

"Well, Callie will be there. I'm pretty sure you guys can hang out." John said.

"Dad she's probably going to be on surgery too" Bella pointed out.

"You can hang out with someone else" he said smiling.

"Dad you said this two days ago and I spent the entire day by myself at the cafeteria reading." She said not convinced.

"I thought you liked that" John smiled.

"Sometimes I do. But" she said and he interrupted her.

"See you do like it. Come on. Honey I don't want to leave you in the house alone again. Your break from school needs to be fun and not you just staying inside the entire time"

"Well dad when I'm there I'm inside too" she said.

"Very funny Belly. But seriously I don't want you home by yourself and Cameron is busy so you are going alright?" He said smiling at her.

"So apparently sir, you already made a decision"

"Go get ready" John said smiling. Isabella hopped of the chair and gave him a hug.

"Good morning daddy." She smiled.

"Actually good afternoon. It's almost 1. Sleepy head" John said letting out a little laugh. Isabella smiled and went upstairs to change.

She took a shower and got dressed. The usual jeans, a t-shirt and her black doc martins. She just loved the boots her mom gave her. She let her hair lay and put a hair tie on her wrist just for precaution. She got her bag and put two books in it. At the moment she was almost done reading 'The Understudy' and was going to begin 'The 100'. She also packed her iPad and some skittles and she was ready. She went downstairs and found her dad sitting in the kitchen waiting for her.

"You're ready?" He asked.

"Yup." She said.

They went to the car.

The ride to the hospital was alright. Bella did that too many times to pay attention to the outside still so she just turned the music on.

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At the hospital they went in to find Derek, Isabella's godfather, in the hall talking to Callie. They seemed happy to see Bella.

"Hey you." Callie said hugging her.

"Hi" Bella said now going to hug Derek who picked her up, gave her a big squeeze and put her back down.

When she turned to her dad he looked a bit off.

"Dad are you okay?" She asked. But got no response. "Dad?" She asked again but before he could answer he fell to the ground and started seizing.

Isabella didn't knew exactly what to do. She tried going down to help him but she couldn't because Callie was holding her too tight she couldn't move right.

"Daddy" she whispered and tears started to go down her face. "Uncle Derek what's going on?" She asked.

"I need a bed in here" Derek shouted and two nurses hurried over with a bed and medicine. "He's gonna be alright honey." Derek said to Bella. "Callie get her out of here"

Isabella was in shock. She didn't want to go anywhere she wanted to stay with her dad.

"Come on honey." Callie said calmly.

"No. I want to stay with him" Bella said letting go of Callie.

"You can't right now. They need to check him" Callie said hugging the girl and trying her best not to cry. She knew what was going on. She knew what John had. But she couldn't tell Bella anything.

Chief Owen came over to see what was going on. Derek rolled John out with the nurses and Bella was hugging Callie.

"What happened?" Owen asked.

"He had a seizure" Callie said with a scared look on her face. She knew that was bad. Really bad.

"Hey what do you think of hanging out with me and Callie for a while?" He asked. "He's gonna be okay." He said hugging her.

"We need to call Jeremy" Callie said. Jeremy was Isabella's brother. He's 25 and he's a doctor too but he works at a private practice downtown and leaves with his girlfriend Marley who is a resident there at the hospital.

The three of them walked to the residents lounge. Bella was holding Callie's hand but she was not crying anymore. They got to the lounge and Isabella and Callie sat on the couch.

"I'm gonna call him. You two wait here" Owen said and left the room. Isabella just stayed there and hugged Callie. She was scared but she was good at not showing it so she just kept telling herself on her head that it was nothing and he was going to be okay. Callie knew how Bella was with letting her emotions out so she didn't want to force anything so she just stayed there hugging her back and she didn't say a word.

Outside Owen was on the phone with Jeremy.

"You need to come here now. It's bad Jeremy. It's really bad this time" he said.

"I'll get there in 5 minutes" Jeremy said.

"Bella is here. She saw everything" Owen said.

"Oh no. Is she okay?" He asked.

"She's with Callie right now."

"I'll get there as soon as I can" Jeremy said and hung up.

Owen was one of the people who knew. A huge part of the doctors there knew, and besides them only Isabella's mother who lived in D.C. knew. Her mother is an FBI agent and used to work for Interpol. She found out she was pregnant while in there and didn't want to get a baby involved into any of that. She was scared somebody could hurt the baby. Even people at Interpol said kids never worked there and it usually ends bad. They told her to have an abortion but she could never do that. So her and John came up with a plan to keep the baby safe. And 10 years later only close family knew about her and no one she knows, but 2 of her friends for Interpol, knows about her daughter. She comes to visit Isabella sometimes and they have an amazing bond. They look so much alike it's scary. Her father always says that.

Owen went into the lounge.

"Your brother's coming" he said. "Hey. It's gonna be okay. Alright" he said kneeing down in front of Bella.

"Okay" she whispered turning over and hugging Callie again. She was trying to be strong but she was just so scared.

"I'm gonna go see how he's doing" Owen said.

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After about 10 minutes Jeremy showed up. Bella ran to him.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah" she whispered and hugged him again. "Is he gonna be alright?" She asked fighting her tears that wanted desperately to fall.

"I'm gonna go talk to Derek right now. They took him to do an mri" Jeremy said.

"But he'll be okay right?" Bella asked.

The look on her face was killing Jeremy inside.

"Yeah. It's gonna be okay" he said. She was hating the fact that everyone was saying "it's" and not "he's". She sat down on the couch again and got her book out. She knew mris took a long time and she needed to think about something else. She laid her head on Callie's lap and began reading.

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Jeremy got to the mri and the news were not good. They checked john's brain first. And there was a tumor there, but it could be fixed, they thought. But when he's abdomen loaded on the screen they realized it was to late. It was everywhere. Derek stared crying. And Jeremy just stood there and stared at the screen. "How long to you think he has?" Jeremy asked to the oncologist sitting next to Derek. "Not long"

"How long?" He asked again. "Around a week isn't it?"

"Maybe less then that" the oncologist said. Derek got up and hugged Jeremy. They were booth crying. They knew it would happen sooner or later but they didn't thought it was this soon.

John first found out he had cancer 3 years before that. He had chemo and went into remission. They decided not to tell Isabella. John didn't want her to be scared all the time that she was going to lose him. He just wanted her to have a happy life and he knew that would ruin everything leaving her so afraid all the time. His plan worked fine because they had just started talking about boarding schools and he made her go to one in Massachusetts. She went to the same school as john's mother. She didn't want to go but John made her specially because of his sickness. He was in remission for about 7 months and then it came again. He treated and went back to remission. Everything was fine until about 2 months ago. He started feeling really tired and nauseous so he went to get check and they saw it was back. They began treatment but this time he was too sick. The treatment wasn't working and it wasn't going to work. Then he decided to stop it and just enjoy his life and not spend his hours sick in the hospital. He was feeling sick but he could take it. He tried to have as much fun times as he could with Bella and Jeremy and even all his friends. And it was working. He thought of telling Bella but he didn't want her to suffer. So he just didn't.

Derek and Jeremy stopped crying but they were still hugging.

"I need to talk to him" Jeremy said.

"Of course" Derek said.

They turned the mri machine off and took John to his room. He was awake but was feeling really sick and so tired. It was like his lungs were starting to give up on him.

"Dad" Jeremy said getting in the room.

"Hi. Come here" John said. Jeremy went in and sat on the bed.

"How long do I have?" John asked. Jeremy's eyes were tearing up.

"They think maybe a week" he said.

"I don't think I have that long" John said. He was a doctor too. He knew his longs would give up, he knew they wouldn't fight for a week even if he really wanted too.

Jeremy was holding his tears.

"Dad. What am I gonna tell her?" He asked.

"You tell her the truth" John said.

"She'll hate us for this dad." Jeremy said letting his tears fall.

John held his hand tight.

"She will understand sooner or later. She's tough Jeremy. You know that." John said crying too. He knew his daughter was tough and brave but he also knew this would break her.

"She'll be okay" John said.

"I need to call Emily" Jeremy said. "She needs her mom"

"Call Emily and tell Bella. Don't wait for her to get here okay?. Promise me you won't wait" John said.

"Why not dad? Her mother needs to be here. How am I supposed to tell her by myself ?. I can't. I just can't" Jeremy said really fast.

"You can. You need to. She needs you to tell her. She'll stay with Emily and we can't let her be mad at Emily for this because she'll need her more than ever"

"I know but-"

"Jeremy" John cut him off and Jeremy just knew he would have to toughen up and do it.

". Do you want me to tell her now?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah. Call Emily and go tell her. Make sure Derek and Callie are there. And please don't leave her alone okay? She can't be alone okay?" John said crying.

"Okay." Jeremy said and kissed his dad forehead.

"Tell her I love her. Please tell her" John said and Jeremy nodded yes.

He took his phone out of his pocket and went out of the room.

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Emily had just finished a case in Texas with her team and they were on the suv heading to the airport to go back home. Her phone started ringing and the name 'David mills' showed up on the screen. She knew that was Jeremy. She changed their names on her contact list so no one would know who they were.

Her body froze. She knew they wouldn't call her if it wasn't something serious. She was always the one who called them.

She answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Emily it's me" Jeremy said.

"Is everything okay?" She asked concerned.

"He's in the hospital. It's really bad this time Em. You need to come here." John said his voice sounding teary.

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 _ **Please please please tell me what you guys think about this fic. I just think there's so much to explore with Prentiss and a child.**_

 _ **Ps: if you're also reading my other fanfiction (I Choose You) there'll be a new chapter this week too =)**_


	2. Chapter 2: Secrets

Chapter 02 - Secrets

"Hello?"

"Emily it's me" Jeremy said.

"Is everything okay?" She asked concerned.

"He's in the hospital. It's really bad this time Em. You need to come here." John said his voice sounding teary.

"Does she knows?" Emily asked.

"She came to the hospital with him today and as soon as they got here he had a seizure. She saw everything."

"Oh no" Emily said heartbroken but trying not to sound like it.

"She's with Callie right now and we're gonna tell her."

"She doesn't know it all yet?" Emily asked.

"No. Dad wants me to tell her right now."

"Wait for me Jeremy. I'll be there soon" Emily said. "I'm on my way to the airport right now."

"Dad doesn't want you here when I tell her. He thinks she'll get mad at us and he doesn't want her to get mad at you because she'll need you Em. She's so scared and she needs you and I don't want her to think she's alone or anything like that. I know she'll be mad at all of us for lying to her but you can't be the one telling her that her dad will die." Jeremy said trying hard not to sob.

"I'll get there as soon as I can. And anything message me okay?" She said fighting her own tears.

"Okay" Jeremy answered and hung up.

Emily was in shock. She didn't knew how to explain to her team what was going on so she just sat there speechless.

"Em? Is everything okay?" Derek Morgan, one of her team members, asked. She didn't answer. "Emily!?" He said with a strong voice and she didn't even jump.

"Can we use the jet to go to Seattle?" She asked.

"What? Seattle?" Aaron Hotchner, her chief, asked.

"What happened?" J.J and Penelope asked at the same time. (Penelope had to go to Texas with them this time)

"A friend of mine... Unm. He's unm." She tried to say it but the thought of her daughter in a hospital scared to death was not letting her think straight.

Derek M. who was sitting next to her squeezed her arm.

"Em. What happened?" He said.

"He's dying. And I need unm... I need to go there" she said trying hard to fight the ocean forming in her eyes.

"Of course we can go there." Hotch said.

"Thank you" she said and just stared out the window. "I'll explain better on the plane okay?" She said. She knew they were wondering what was going on and she knew they paid attention to the phone call but she couldn't just say it, she needed a little time to process.

"Okay" Hotch said.

They were a few minutes away from the airport and she spent the entire time thinking what exactly she would tell them. How would she tell them she had a 10 year-old daughter that no one knew about. She knew she could trust them and after 3 months working at the BAU she started thinking about telling them so Bella could visit her and they could spend more time together but when she talked to John he didn't think it was a good idea.

She was silent until the sat on the private FBI jet. Everyone was waiting for her to start talking.

"So. What's going on Emily?" Derek M. asked.

"This is going to sound crazy. And you might judge me and that fine because I know I did the right thing. I wanted to tell you all before but he didn't think I should." She said not looking at any of them.

"I have unm..." She said and looked to J.J. She couldn't believe she was telling them.

"I have a daughter." She said and waited for their reaction. Everyone was surprised of course.

"You have a little prentiss?" Penelope asked with tears in her eyes and a huge smile.

"Yes" Emily answered smiling back at her.

"Is she alright?" Spencer asked worried.

"She's okay. It's her father. Unm. He has cancer." She said her eyes tearing up again with all the thinking about Bella.

"I'm so sorry" Spencer said.

"Are you married? Divorce? Or what?" J.J. Asked a bit confused.

"No no. Unm he was my best friend when I was young and it was a one time thing, I was drunk, things happened and 4 weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I was at Interpol at the time and you know how they are with kids and everything so they were telling me all these things that could happen and I knew it could happen to her and I had to make sure she was safe so her father and I came up with this whole thing and one of my friends there helped us and it wasn't even on my file that I was pregnant or anything. She always lived with her dad" she said.

Everyone was in awe. They couldn't really believe what they were hearing.

"Does she knows you're her mom? or unm" Penelope asked.

"She knows. I go visit her a lot. She travels with her dad all over the country and I meet them sometimes." Emily said.

"What's her name? How old is she?" Derek asked. Everyone was excited about the news but concerned at the same time. They were all smiling.

"Bella. Well it's Isabella. She's 10." Emily said smiling too now.

"You have a 10 year-old?" J.J. Asked surprised.

"I do" Emily laughed. And everybody too.

"Do you have any pictures?" Penelope asked.

"You can look her up online. Search John Marsh on Facebook" Emily said. And of course Penelope did at that second. She clicked in pictures and everyone couldn't believe how much they looked a like.

"Oh my god Em. She's your copy" J.J. said.

"She really is" Hotch said with an almost smile.

They were all looking at the pictures and saying how cray it was that Isabella looked so much like her mother.

"It's like I'm looking at a picture of little Emily" David said.

"But Em. What's going on with her dad?" J. J. Asked and everyone's faces changed.

"He found out he had cancer 3 years ago and is on and off remission but this time the treatment didn't work and he had to stop because it was making him even sicker. He didn't want Bella to see him like that you know." She said.

"I'm really sorry" Spencer said.

"She doesn't know does she? That's why you were telling that Jeremy to wait for you?" Derek M asked.

"Her dad, unm John, he thought it would be best not to. He didn't want her to be afraid all the time because of this. She's a very tough kid but she's just a kid you know"

"Will he wait for you?" Hotch asked.

"No. John wants him to tell her right now to give her some time to process everything before I get there. So she won't be so mad at me too" Emily said.

"So Jeremy is her half-brother?" David asked.

"Yeah. He's 25. He's a doctor too." Emily said.

"She's gonna be alright Em." J.J said noticing her friend was nervous.

"She has all of us now" Penelope said.

"And she has a really good mom" Derek M said.

Emily smiled at all of them. She was happy her friends understood and didn't seems to be judging her for her choices. She was glad she had them. But all she wanted was to hug her baby. She couldn't stop thinking about Bella.

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	3. Chapter 3: We Need To Talk

Chapter 03 - We need to talk

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Back at the hospital, Isabella was sitting on the couch. She finished the book but decided not to start the new one. So she and Callie were watching a cooking show on TV when Jeremy came in.

Isabella stood up.

"Can I see him?" She asked.

"We need to talk" Jeremy said.

She could see her brother had been crying and it had been a little over an hour since he left to see what was going on.

"Is he alright?" She asked as her eyes teared up. She was so scared of the answer to that question.

"They took him to his room" Jeremy said. "Come here. Sit down." He said heading to the couch. He sat down and Bella sat next to him.

Callie stayed up in front of them.

"I need to tell you something that's been going on but I need you to understand that we did it to protect you okay?" He said. "Dad didn't want to scare you so he made us promise we wouldn't tell anything, alright?" Jeremy said and Bella looked very concerned.

"What is it Jeremy?" She asked fighting her tears.

"3 years ago dad wasn't feeling very good so he got a check up and they found a tumor. He fought it and beat it but it came back last year. And he fought it all over again and he won but a couple of months ago it came back again and he just couldn't win this time" Jeremy said. Tears were rolling down his face. Isabella knew what that meant. She knew it was cancer. She knew her dad was going to die.

"3 years?" She asked suddenly realizing. She couldn't believe her ears. How could they have lied to her for 3 years.

"I'm so sorry Bella. We all wanted to tell you but he made us promise not to. He didn't want you to be afraid all the time of losing him. He wanted you to be happy and enjoy life with him."

"What do you mean we all?" She asked. She looked mad and scared at the same time.

"Some of the doctors here knows and your mom too" Jeremy said.

"How long does he have?" She asked serious but Jeremy couldn't answer that.

The look on his little 10 year-old sister was killing him.

"How long does he have Jeremy?" She asked again more firm this time.

"Not long" he said.

She got up and tried to run but Callie got her before she made through the door.

"Let me go! I wanna see him. Let me go" Bella screamed while all the tears she was holding started to fall.

"It's okay. Calm down." Callie tried calming her down but it didn't work.

Jeremy went and grabbed her. She started fighting more to be let go.

"Get away from me." She scream.

Jeremy picked her up and she gave up and just cried. It took about 20 minutes for her to fully calm down.

Marley and Derek were there now together with Callie. Who was sitting next to Jeremy with Bella on his lap.

"I wanna see him" Isabella said. She was so scared. She wanted her daddy. She just wanted to go home with her dad and all of this to go away.

"I can take her" Derek shepherd said. Jeremy nodded.

Derek got close to them and picked her up. She's small for her age and very skinny so it was easy to carry her around.

"It's gonna be okay baby" Derek said.

"No it's not" Isabella said and hugged him tighter.

Derek went out of the room with Bella on his arms. He was followed by Jeremy, Marley and Callie.

They got to john's room. Derek put Bella down.

She was scared so she held his hand, as if she wanted him to go in with her.

"Hey. I got you" Jeremy said putting one arm around her shoulder. She looked at him and let go of Derek's hand.

"We'll be right here at the door" Derek said and gave her a warm smile.

She went in with Jeremy.

John was lying on the bed sleeping. He had so many tubes and machines around him. Bella's chest was pounding so much she thought she was going to explode. She got close to the bed and placed her hand on her dad's. His eyes slowly opened. John saw his girl's face and he had to fight with all he had to look the best he could.

"Hi honey" he said.

"Hi" Bella said so quietly they could barely hear her.

"It's going to be okay, alright? Don't worry" John told her.

"Why didn't you tell me dad?" Isabella asked trying not to let her tears fall again.

"I didn't want you to feel what you're feeling right now. But I promise that it's all going to be fine. You're gonna be okay" John said serious but warm.

"Nothing is gonna be okay dad." Bella said. John squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry" he said letting go of her hand. "Is Marley here?" He asked.

"Yes" Jeremy said.

"She needs to take her home" John said. "Marley needs to take her home"

"What? No!" Bella said looking confused.

"Dad no! I wanna stay with you. Please" Bella said fighting her tears.

"You need to go home" John said serious.

"No!" Bella said louder than normal. Derek and Callie ran in the room.

It was hurting John so much to do this but he didn't want her to see him like that. He didn't want his baby to remember him dying lying in a hospital bed.

"Callie take her home. Get her out of here" John said serious.

"I'm not going anywhere" Isabella said. She couldn't hold the tears anymore when she saw Derek walking towards her to take her out.

"No please I want to stay" she began crying. Derek tried picking her up but she was fighting him off. "No please. Let me stay" she cried. "Daddy!"

"Dad" Jeremy said as if he wanted his dad to know what he was doing was wrong.

"Take her home" John said quietly so Bella wouldn't hear and also trying not to look at her crying.

"Dad let her stay" Jeremy said holding his father's hand.

"I don't want her here damn it. Take her home" he said louder and sounding mad. Isabella heard it and she just stopped fighting. Instead of trying to get away from Derek's arms she buried herself in them. She tried her best to hide her face because too many tears were falling.

"I got you" Derek said picking her up and running his hand on her back. "I want my mom" Isabella cried. Jeremy came to the side of the bed they were and went close to her face. "I'm sorry" he said and placed a kiss on her head.

"Take her home. Marley can stay with her." Jeremy said to Derek.

"I'll stay there with them. Don't worry." Callie said while Derek went out of the room.

"Callie will go home with you and Marley okay? I'm gonna stay here in case they need me for something" Derek told her.

In the room John looked at Callie and said "she knows I love her right?"

"Of course she does. Don't you worry about that. Worry about getting better" Callie said giving him a sweet smile. She knew he was going to die but she couldn't let herself feel it. She had to be strong for Bella.

She went outside to find Derek sitting on a chair with Bella on his lap. She had stopped crying but Callie had never seen her looking so sad.

"Are you taking her to the car? Mine is right on the front" she said.

"Sure" Derek answered getting up. Isabella hated being carried around like a baby on the hospital but she was just feeling so sad and embarrassed for crying that she didn't even care. She just wanted to get home and go to her room and stay there forever.

They walked to the car.

Derek placed her in the back seat and Marley sat next to her just in case she needed something. Derek gave her a kiss.

"I'll go see you as soon as I can okay?" He told Bella and she nodded yes.

"I love you" he said looking her straight in the eyes. She didn't say it back. She just looked at him like as if she knew it and she loved him too but couldn't say it. He gave her another hug and closed the door and walked to Callie's window.

"Anything call me okay?" He said serious.

"You too" Callie said. And they were off. 

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The ride home was quiet. Isabella just didn't feel like talking. When they got to the house Bella went straight upstairs to her bedroom while Callie turned the lights on the living room and Marley went to the fridge for a glass of water. She closed the curtains and laid on the bed covering herself with way more blankets she needed.

Callie went up to check on her. When she got to the bedroom Bella didn't had one tear on her face but she was curled up hugging her stuffed dog tramp, one she sleeps with since she was 2. Callie knew the kid was so scared and sad but she didn't want her to focus on that all day.

"Hey. We're going to watch a movie. Come watch with us" she said. Bella didn't respond. Callie sat on the bed.

"Look I know you're sad and mad at us for lying but you can't shut us out." Callie said and Bella looked away.

"Look at me" she said but Bella didn't move. "Look at me." This times Isabella looked her right in the eyes. "I know it hurts but staying here it's just gonna make it worse. Come down and sit with us" she said petting Bella's hair.

"Okay" Bella said. Isabella thought it would be best to just shove the thoughts on the back of her head so she decided to go downstairs.

"Come on" Callie said. Helping her get up.

"Callie?" Bella said and Callie looked at her. "He's gonna die isn't he?" She asked with such a sad face that Callie had to use all her strength not to sob. She hugged Bella tight.

"I'm sorry" was all she could say.

Isabella didn't cry. She wasn't a crier. She never was. She put on a brave face and went downstairs.

Marley was surprised to see her there.

"We're gonna watch a movie" Callie said.

"Oh okay cool" Marley said surprised.

"You pick or I do?" Callie asked Bella.

"You do. But please no romances okay?" Isabella said. Callie was happy her mood was getting a bit better.

"Okay. How about 'Super 8'?" Callie said looking through the DVDs.

"Sure" Bella said.

Callie went to put the dvd while Bella sat on the couch with a blanket and tramp. Callie sat next to her.

"Hey. Lay your head here sweetie" she said pointing to her legs. Isabella laid down and the movie started. Around 15 minutes into the film Bella was out. Jeremy called to let Callie know that Emily was on her way from Texas so it would take a while. He was relieved to know that Bella was asleep. 

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She slept for about 3 hours. When she woke up her friend Cameron was there. Cameron had just turned 18 years old and she became friends with Bella when Isabella moved to the building. Isabella suddenly got a big sister. They went to the same school and when Bella went to boarding, Cameron's mother decided to send her too. So they were really close friends.

"Hi" Cameron said to Bella the moment she opened her eyes.

"Hi" Bella responded a little sleepy still. "Did you know too?" Bella asked.

"No" Cameron said. Isabella looked relieved. "Good" Bella said and then turned her head to Callie.

"Did Jeremy call?" She asked.

"Yeah. He said everything's good there" Callie said with a warm smile.

"Yeah I bet everything is awesome" Isabella said sarcastically and got up. She headed to the kitchen to drink some water.

"Do you want to pick the movie now?" Marley asked.

"Sure" Isabella agreed. She finished her water and went to check the DVDs. She out picked 'Moulin Rouge' and held up the dvd.

"How about this one?" She asked.

"Surprise" Cameron said and they all smiled but Bella. She went and put the dvd on and sat next to Callie again. They smiled and even laughed while watching the movie. Callie was thinking how her idea was working. Just the fact Bella wasn't looking so miserable anymore was helping her. They were almost at the end when the intern con rang. Callie got up and answered.

"Hello. Who is it?" She asked.

"Hi Calliope. It's Emily." Emily said.

They had landed in Seattle almost 40 minutes ago.

Emily didn't knew Bella was at home so she went straight to the hospital and her team went with her.

When she got there Derek and Jeremy told her everything that happened and she went to see John. He was glad to see her and he was scared too. He knew his daughter would stay with her mom now and she would be involved in her work. He didn't like that idea but he knew that Isabella would be okay because she has her mother with her no matter what. He begged Emily to make sure Isabella knows how much he loves her and that he is very sorry for leaving her. They both cried a lot. Just like Bella, Emily is not a crier so her team was actually surprised to see her coming out of the room with big red and puffy eyes.

She told Jeremy she was going to their apartment to see Bella. All she could think about was her kid. She knew she was scared. She knew she was putting on a brave face but she was broken. She knew that her baby needed her more then ever. So she went to the apartment and her team went with her. They were all at the door a couple of minutes after Callie buzzed them in. Callie didn't tell Bella her mom was there. She wanted to be a surprise. So she sat on the couch again.

"Who was that?" Marley asked.

"They're coming up." She said.

Isabella went back to paying attention to the film when the apartment door bell rang.

"Be right there!" Callie shouted.

Outside Penelope asked too excited "was that her?"

"No. That was Callie" Emily answered.

"Can you go get it Bella?" Callie asked looking at the others with murder eyes, letting them know Isabella should be the one to answer.

"Sure" Isabella said getting up. The bell rang again.

"Just a second please!" The little girl shouted.

Outside Emily said "now that was her" and they all smiled.

"She sounds alright" Derek M said.

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	4. Chapter 4: Mom Is Here

Chapter 04- Mom is here 

Isabella got to the door and unlocked it, she opened it and the first thing she saw was Derek's face. She knew the team from pictures her mother showed her, she knew a lot about them but she knew they didn't knew her so she thought something was wrong so she shut the door faster then she opened. Her breathing got heavier and then she heard "honey it's me. It's okay. They know and you're safe. It's Emily. It's mom"

Bella took a deep breath and opened the door again.

When her eyes met her mother's she just went and hugged her. Emily was glad to have her daughter in her arms.

"It's alright. I'm here" she said Trying to fight her tears as her daughter fought hers. "You can trust them. You're safe." She whispered on Bella's ear.

By the time Bella let go of her the team was already inside.

"Come on in. We were watching a movie" Marley said. Everyone introduced themselves and Bella just stood beside her mom. Emily had her arms around her.

"So you're Bella" J.J. Said smiling.

"Yeah. And you're JJ right? Unm I mean Jennifer" Isabella said.

"So you know us?" Penelope asked happily.

"Kind of." Bella said giving them a little smile. She was trying to be tough, but Emily knew her kid and she could feel how tense she was.

"Do you want to sit down?" Emily asked running her hand on Bella's back.

When she did that Bella just shoved her head on her mom's arms. She was so scared and sad and she couldn't hide it anymore. She wanted to cry, she had to, she couldn't hold it anymore. And she didn't. Tears started to roll and she tried her best to hide her face. Emily's heart sank. She knew it takes a lot to make that kid cry, specially in from of someone other than just her mom. She picked Bella up and sat on the couch placing Bella on her lap.

"It's okay. It's alright. I'm right here" that's all she could say.

After a while she asked "do you want to go to your room with me?"

"Yeah" Bella cried. She couldn't control it anymore and she hated it. Emily knew that wasn't sobbing, she knew she wasn't breaking down yet from all of this but she was letting some of it out, and she knew Bella would hate to break down in from of all those people. So Emily got up and picked her up and went upstairs. At that moment Isabella was glad she was tiny because she just wanted to be there exactly were she was. On her mom's arms. 

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Emily went upstairs. Derek Morgan followed her.

"Do you want me to take her up?" He asked when Emily started going upstairs.

"It's okay. I got it." Emily said.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah" she said and headed to Bella's bedroom and he stayed downstairs with the others.

Emily went in and Bella's bedroom was still exactly like it was the last time she was there 3 months before. She spent the weekend there.

She placed Bella down. Isabella climbed on the bed and Emily sat next to her. Bella was trying to wipe her tears away but more kept coming. Emily placed her hands on Bella's face.

"Stop." She said. "It's okay to cry"

Bella didn't want to cry but she couldn't help it.

"Come here" Emily said getting Bella on her lap.

"You're fine. It's alright to cry. It's okay" she said.

"Mom?" Bella said. "He's gonna die" Bella cried.

Emily could see the pain in her eyes. She hugged her as tight as she could. She didn't know what to say so she just hugged her. 

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After a while Isabella's breathing went back to normal and the tears stopped falling. She was still on her mother's lap on the bed. She was thinking about everything at once. She was so scared.

Emily saw she calmed down and decided to try to get her talking a bit. She knew Bella well and she knew it wouldn't be easy. So she just wanted her talking about anything.

"Hey. You okay?" Emily asked. She knew Bella wasn't okay.

"Yeah. I'm fine" Isabella said wiping her face. The tears had stopped completely now.

"Do you want to go out to eat with me?" Emily asked. She thought maybe being out would help get her mind off of things.

"No" Bella said. "Can we just stay here?" She asked.

"Sure" Emily said.

"Mom?"

"Yes honey?"

"Well he unm... Am I going to live with you?" Bella asked her eyes tearing up again.

"Sure. If you want to of course" Emily said.

"I do. I really do" Bella said and the tears jumped out of her eyes. She hugged her mom again.

"don't you worry okay. I got you" Emily said.

"Are you sure it's okay for them to know?" Bella asked concerned. Her parents never hid from her the reasons why her mom wasn't there and what could happen to her.

"They're really good agents. And good people. They are you're family now too. Okay? You can count on them" Emily said. She trusted her team with her life.

"Are you sure?" Bella asked.

"I am. They got your back too. You're safe" Emily said. "Okay? You're safe" she repeated.

Bella have her a tight hug again, she was feeling a bit better now that her mom was there.

"Mom? Does anyone else knew? Like Emma or Cameron's mom?" Isabella asked.

"Cameron's mom did" Emily said.

"Look honey when he told me this I didn't agree. I really didn't nor you brother did. We didn't want to lie to you about it but your dad had a point and I'm not saying he was right but he was scared and he didn't want you do see him like that"

"I know. Jeremy told me everything" Bella said.

"Right now I'm not mad mommy" she said. "I'm just... I'm just scared." She said while water started filling her eyes.

"I know you are. I know. Come here honey" Emily said and hugged Bella. She started rocking her like she used to do when Bella was very little. She knew that it took a lot for her daughter to tell her that and that if she admitted and cried like that she was probably terrified.

"I got you. Mommy is right here" she said.

After a while Bella said "do you want to order some food?"

"Sure. What do you wanna have?" Emily said.

"I don't know." Bella said.

"How about if you ask them for ideas?" Emily asked. She saw an opportunity to take Bella out of the bedroom and took it.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go" Bella said getting up.

They headed to the stairs.

Bella got tensed again. Emily saw that and held her hand.

"I've got you" she whispered and Bella smiled.

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	5. Chapter 5: Gone

They went downstairs to find everyone sitting in the living room. The TV was on but they weren't paying attention. They had been talking about Bella and about John's disease.

When they saw Bella and Emily coming down they stopped and just stared at them which made Bella hid behind her mother.

"We were thinking about ordering in. Do you guys want to eat something?" Emily asked reaching the last steeps.

"Sure" Marley said while everyone nodded yes. Everyone could tell just by looking at Bella's face she cried a lot.

Emily and Bella walked to the couch and Marley went to get a book they had with the numbers of food places they liked. Bella went to sit next to Callie and Emily followed her, not letting go of her hand. They sat down.

"Are you alright?" Callie asked.

"Yeah I'm fine" Bella said not looking at her.

"Do you want to choose the channel?" Callie asked.

"No. Anything is fine" Bella said laying her head on her mom's arm.

"It's almost time for 'friends'" Cameron said. At school they watched it every week the reruns and they loved it. Cameron loved the fact that Bella liked pretty much everything she liked even though their age difference was enormous.

"Good idea" Bella said and gave Cameron a little smile.

They changed the channel and conversations went on and off.

J.J changed places with Callie and talked a little with Bella and Penelope about how was dc and their office. Bella felt they were very caring and family like. She really liked them. Emily, Marley and David decided to order Mexican. Everyone loved tacos and salsa and no one was starving so they just wanted to have a little something to eat. After ordering Emily went back to the couch. She sat next to Bella who was now talking very low with Cameron. Emily tried paying attention but all she understood was that Bella wanted to go to the hospital. She placed her hand on Bella's shoulder and said. "I can take you if you want"

Bella looked at her and asked in disbelief "really?"

"Sure" Emily said with a little smile but Bella didn't seem happy about it.

She hugged her mom. That got everyone's attention. They were all thinking about what happened. Bella seemed distracted and now she was hugging her mom tight. Emily pulled the small girl to her lap. "Hey. It's okay. I'll take you" she said.

"He doesn't want to see me mom" Bella said. She looked at Callie and said "he said it himself." Her voice breaking everyone's heart.

Emily looked at Callie.

Back at the hospital Jeremy didn't tell Emily that John basically kicked Bella out of the room. She just knew she talked to John and left.

"Bella. Your dad lo-" Emily started saying but Bella cut her off.

"Don't okay. Just don't. Not you too. I hate everyone telling me he loves me. He should say it himself." Bella said serious. Her eyes were teary again. She placed her hands on her eyes and said "damn it"

"Hey. Look at me" Emily said touching Bella's cheek. "I'll make him see you if I have to" she said and Bella just sat there.

"I think you should" Callie said. "I can drive you two"

"The food will get here anytime. She needs to eat something" Marley said.

"I'm not hungry" Isabella said.

"You only had breakfast today. You're not leaving without eating alright?!" Marley said.

"We'll go as soon as we're done. Okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella agreed.

Bella sat next to her mom on the couch and tried concentrating on the tv. It wasn't long till the food arrived. Everyone ate, including Bella even though she ate just a couple of nachos and salsa. She just didn't feel like eating at all.

When she was done she went upstairs to brush her teeth so they could go to the hospital. Before heading back down she got a jacket because it was getting cold. When she got half down the stairs she saw Marley sobbing on the couch hugging Callie. Cameron was hugging Penelope. Jeremy was talking to David and Derek M. When she looked in front of her she saw her mom and Derek Shepherd In the beginning of the stairs as if they were heading up. She stared at them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked Jeremy. But he didn't answer. She could feel everyone's eyes staring at her now.

"What's going on?" She asked confused and scared. She could feel her heart racing.

Emily's heart was broken. She didn't knew what to do or even how to begin to say. She could see the fear on her daughter eyes.

"Dad umm..." Said Jeremy.

"Is he dead?" Isabella asked not getting a response. "Is he?" Her eyes began to swim.

"Yeah" whispered Jeremy and nodded. His heart was broken too.

He felt so bad about everything with Bella and he lost his dad too. He just wanted to make everything okay and back to what it was.

"No" Isabella whispered. She realized she was about to explode so she turned around and tried to run upstairs but she failed because her mother knew she would try to go away. Emily grabbed her by the arms.

"Let me go" Bella said. Emily hugged her siting on the stairs. "No. Let me go" and a sob came as all the pressure of her body was being relived. Derek S. came to the ground too. Everyone on that room was crying. Even Hotch's eyes were full.

Emily and Bella just sat there. Isabella was trying really hard to stop crying. She wasn't sobbing. She was crying a lot but just tears were rolling, nothing else. Emily knew she was holding back. She knew her daughter wouldn't give up and break down in front of all those people. She was about to get up to take Bella to her room when Jeremy came over. He sat with them and tried getting Bella out of Emily's arms into his but she wouldn't move. "Hey it's Jeremy. It's alright" Emily said.

"No" Bella said hugging Emily tighter.

"Bella look at me" Jeremy said. Isabella looked him right in the eyes.

"I am so sorry. For everything okay. I'm sorry" he said crying. Isabella let go of her mom and hugged him. Jeremy just sobbed. It seemed like he was the little boy and Bella was the big sister taking care of him.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry" he kept saying.

"It's not your fault" Isabella said and he looked at her. Everyone was paying attention to them.

"I'm not mad at you okay? I'm not. I'm just sad. I'm not mad just sad. And I'm sorry too" Bella said and gave him a big hug. She knew it wasn't his fault any of that happened. She really wasn't mad at anyone for lying she was just sad about it all. And She knew her brother was really hurt too.

She hugged him again and then let go and got up. She held her mother's hand. "Can we go to my room?" She asked, tears still rolling.

"Of course". Emily said.

They started going upstairs. After about 4 steps Emily picked Bella up. They went to the bedroom and laid on the bed. Bella was still crying and Emily was trying her best not to begin crying again. They just stayed there on the bed not talking at all, just hugging. It was really late at night, about 11. Isabella was tired but she didn't want to sleep so she tried fighting her sleep but after a while she gave up. Emily made sure Bella was in deep sleep before she got up. She went downstairs to find everyone in the living room and the kitchen.

"where is she?" Derek S. asked.

"She fell asleep" Emily said.

"Should we give her the sedative?" Asked Jeremy to Derek.

"You want to sedate her? She just fell asleep" Emily said.

"Remember when Robbie died? She didn't sleep for a week" Marley said.

"She was 7" Callie said letting them know she's not that little anymore.

"She won't sleep you know that. We all know that." Jeremy said.

"It's good Em. She won't even be groggy. She'll just sleep." Derek S. Said.

"It could help." J. J. said.

"How long will she be asleep?" Penelope asked.

"Probably about 5 hours" Jeremy said. Emily looked concerned. She didn't want to sedate her daughter but she knew Bella and she knew nightmares were on the way.

"No" Emily said.

"I can watch her overnight." Callie said. "I was the only one not on call or working in the last 24 hours"

"It's okay. I'm not tired" Emily said.

"Are you sure you don't wanna do this?" Derek S. asked.

"Yes. If you do that it will just make it worse Derek. You know how she is." Emily said knowing Isabella wouldn't like it at all.

"Alright" Derek S. Said. "I'll leave it in here just in case" he added and placed it on the kitchen cupboard.

"Yeah. You all should do like her and get some sleep. It will be a long day tomorrow" Emily said.

Emily's team decided to go to a hotel nearby. They said their goodbye and went. After they left Derek Shepherd, Jeremy, Emily and Callie went up to check on Bella. The sedative was a shot on her arm. Emily knew Bella was going to wake up with that and she would be pissed so she didn't want the kid to be angry at anything anymore.

Shepherd sat on the bed and Emily sat too.

"She's gonna be okay you know" Derek said.

"She has us" Callie said.

"You both do" Emily said looking at Jeremy. He smiled.

"Emily, so do you mind me staying here? We could maybe take turns on staying with her if she wakes up." Callie said.

She knew Bella too and she knew the kid would have a bad night. She was impressed Bella was actually asleep.

"Sure" Emily said smiling.

"I have to go home but anything call me okay?" Shepherd said and Emily nodded yes.

Shepherd and Jeremy went out and Emily laid next to Bella. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep but she was willing to try. Callie sat on the bed next to them and began reading one of Bella's book. It took about an hour till Emily was able to get some sleep but it only lasted 2:30 hours. She woke up to the sound of Bella's scream. Isabella had a nightmare about her dad and also about her mom. She screamed "no" really loud and sat on the bed. Her eyes wondered around the room till they meet her mothers and she just jumped to her mom and bursted into tears. Emily hugged her tight.

"It's okay. It was just a bad dream" she kept saying.

Callie's eyes were full of tears. She wasn't used to Bella crying and it was breaking her every time.

"It's okay honey. Calm down. Calm down. We're right here" Emily said running her hand on Isabella back. Her breathing was heavy but she could hear her mother's heartbeat and that helped her calm down. It always helped, since she was a baby.

"How about we watch a movie huh?"Emily asked. She knew Bella would be scared to go back to sleep, and with a movie and snuggling maybe she would just let her tiredness win.

"Okay" Bella said. Callie got up and went through Bella's DVD holder.

"How about Wizard Of Oz? You loved it right?" She asked.

"Okay" Bella said still hugging her mother. Callie put the film on and laid on the bed. Bella was in the middle of them and she was snuggling her mother. It took about 30 minutes for her to go back to sleep. Emily told Callie she could sleep. She knew she wouldn't be able to. She wanted to make sure Bella was alright so she just stayed awake. Isabella slept for about an hour. She woke up and hugged her mom tighter but she wasn't crying this time.

"It's okay. I'm right here" Emily said.

"Let's watch the movie" Emily said. And that's what they did for about 10 minutes and Bella was back asleep.

Emily fell asleep for about half an hour. When she woke up the movie had ended and Bella was fast asleep. She pressed play on the movie again and stayed awake the entire night. Isabella was in and out of sleep. She would just wake up and hug her mom. She didn't say anything or cry she just hugged her mom tight and tried to go back to sleep. She was so tired and she didn't want to think about the fact that her dad was gone. It was all too scary and she just wanted it all to be over and okay.

Shepherd and Cameron had gone home and Jeremy was with Marley in his room. They also couldn't sleep so they took a bit of medicine to help. The funeral was at 2 the next day and Emily couldn't stop think about how hard that would be for everyone, especially Bella.


	6. Chapter 6: Funerals Suck

Around 8 am Emily had already lost count on how many times 'The Wizard Of Oz' had played. She was also impressed by the fact that she wasn't really tired. She had about 3 hours of sleep that night but she didn't care at all.

J.J. Texted her asking if it was okay if the team stopped over there around 9. She said they would take breakfast. Of course Emily said it was fine. She wanted them there. They could help distract Bella and the kid seemed to have liked them.

Callie woke up. She had been in and out of sleep too all night.

"Did you sleep?" She asked Emily.

"Just a little" Emily answered.

"At least Bella managed to get some." She said looking sad at Bella, who was sucking her thumb and hugging her "tramp".

"Hey. She's going to be okay Calliope" Emily said.

"I know. She's a tough kid. But that doesn't mean it won't hurt to get there" Callie said sitting on the bed.

"I know. That's why she needs us strong." Emily said.

"She needs us strong so she can break" Callie added.

"Yeah" Emily agreed. They both knew Bella was a rock. She could hide her feelings so well, just like her mother could. But they both knew that Emily was the only thing that took Bella's shield off. They knew that sooner or later a tsunami would come from the kid.

"She will be alright" Emily said reassuring Callie and even herself.

"Do you want something to eat?" Callie asked.

"The team is coming over with breakfast." Emily said.

"Oh good. At least no one has to worry about cooking anything" Callie said.

"Yeah" Emily agreed.

"I'll go see if Jeremy is awake" Callie said as she got off the bed and headed to the door. She went downstairs to find Jeremy and Marley on the couch watching tv, they weren't paying attention really.

"Hi guys" Callie said.

"Hi. How is she?" Jeremy asked.

"Alright." Callie said.

"Did she sleep?" He asked.

"Yeah. She was in and out all night. But she slept way more then what I thought she would" Callie said.

"Good" Marley said.

"Well Emily said her team is coming with breakfast" Callie said. "I'm just gonna make some coffee. Do you guys want some?"

"I do" Marley said.

"Me too" Jeremy said. He was tired even though he slept all night because of the sleeping pill he took. Too many things were going through his mind. He was scared. Too.

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Upstairs on Bella's room Emily got another text from J.J. Saying they were on their way.

She though it would be best to wake up Bella now so she had some time before everyone got there.

"Hey honey wake up" Emily whispered running her hand on Isabella's hair. Bella moved a little and took her thumb out.

"Wake up" she whispered.

"Hey" she said as soon as Bella's eyes opened. "The team is bringing breakfast"

For a couple of seconds everything that happened the day before was not on Bella's mind. But when they hit her again she hugged her mom as if she was scared of everything around her.

"Oh it's okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. Shuuu shuuuu" Emily said squeezing Bella tight and placing the girl on her lap. A few tears had fallen so she wiped them.

"I'm fine" she told her mother.

"Hey. You're not. And it's okay not to be" Emily said serious and gave Bella a hug. "You don't have to hide anything from me. alright?" Emily said and Isabella nodded yes shyly.

"Come on. Let's go" Emily said getting off the bed. She held Bella's hand and they went downstairs.

They went to the kitchen to find Jeremy, Marley and Callie sitting drinking coffee.

"Hi" Jeremy said getting up. He went and gave Bella a hug.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine" Bella said giving him a little smile. She could see he had been crying and he could see that on her too.

"Do you want some coffee?" Jeremy asked.

"No thanks" Bella said.

"I think they might bring donuts" Emily said.

"How classic. Police and donuts" Bella said putting a smile on everyone's faces.

They were happy to know her silly humor was still kind of there.

"Donuts are just really good" Marley said smiling.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"So you'll wait for them?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah." Bella said heading over to the couch and sat down.

The TV was still on from when Jeremy and Marley were there. It was on some sport channel so she changed it to the history channel and They all followed her and sat to watch a documentary about world war 1. If it was another 10 year-old Emily would think the kid was a little crazy to voluntarily watch a documentary about war but not her Bella.

After about 10 minutes the team got there.

Emily got up to buzz them in and waited to open the door.

Penelope was the first there with a box of donuts. She was followed by the rest of the team. They had also brought bagels and cinnamon rolls.

"Come on in" said Emily holding the door.

"Hi everyone" said J.J stepping inside. They placed the things in the kitchen island.

"Let's go eat." Jeremy told Bella.

"I'm not hungry" she said still looking at the tv.

"You have to eat something" he said staring at her.

She didn't move so he just went away. He walked closer to Emily and said "she said she's not hungry". He was talking low so Bella wouldn't hear it. Emily had a face like she knew that was coming.

"I'll talk to her" Emily said.

She put a glazed donut on a plate and poured some orange juice on a cup and took it to Bella.

Isabella was laying down on the couch with her eyes closed. Emily placed the plate and the mug on the little table beside the couch, kneed down to Bella's eyes level and ran her hand on The girl's hair making Bella open her eyes.

"Hey. I need you to eat something" she said with a tender voice.

"I'm not hungry" Bella said.

"Just try it" Emily said. "Please. Just a donut" she said giving her daughter her puppy eyes.

"Okay" Bella said sitting up. She started eating so Emily got up to get some for herself. She headed to the kitchen island where everyone was gathered.

"Is she eating?" Jeremy asked. He was sitting on a chair and didn't have visual of Bella on the couch.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"Good" Marley said. Everyone smiled but everyone was very concerned.

They ate and talked about work at the fbi and at the hospital. Penelope saw Bella finished eating so she went to sit with her.

"Hi" Penelope said once she got close to the couch.

"Hi" Bella shyly replied.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Penelope askedand Bella shook her head so Penelope sat next to her on the couch.

"So watch are you watching?" Penelope asked.

"I'm waiting for doctor who" Isabella said.

"Oh my god! You like doctor who?" Penelope asked enthusiastic.

"Yeah. It's a cool show" Bella said smiling.

"I love it so much. You have no idea" Penelope said. "Reid likes it too" she said.

"He does?" Isabella asked surprised. Penelope laughed. "Yeah" Bella gave her a sweet smile and the show started.

Spencer Reid was standing close to the kitchen island finishing a donut when he saw the show starting. "Uh doctor who's on" he said starting to walk to the couch and then running.

"Oh no another whovian" Jeremy said. Making Emily and Marley laugh.

"Another what?" Derek Morgan asked confused.

"Whovian" Jeremy said.

"It's what people call 'Doctor Who' fans" Marley explained.

"Oh" Derek M. said laughing.

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The rest of the morning went great. Everyone watched tv together and after doctor who was over Penelope saw that Bella had 'hugo' , a movie she wanted to see for a while so they decided to watch that. After the movie was over Marley ordered some Japanese.

Once again Bella wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat but Emily managed to get her to eat a little bit of yaksoba. After everyone was done J.J said as she was putting the dishes away with Emily "Em. It's almost 1. We should get ready" she was talking about the funeral.

Emily agreed. She walked to Bella and said "come upstairs with me?"

Isabella got up and they went upstairs.

J.J. told the team they had to go to the hotel to get ready because of course they weren't wearing proper clothes. So they left. Marley and Jeremy went to get ready too.

Upstairs, Emily went to Bella's bedroom. She sat on the bed and Bella followed her and sat on her lap.

"Honey. You need to get ready" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said trying to act normal but inside she was broken. She didn't even wanted to go really.

"Go take a shower and I'll shower really quick on the other bathroom okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Isabella said.

Emily knew she was scared. She gave her a kiss on the cheek and started getting up.

"Let's go" she said pushing Bella a little towards the bathroom.

They both took a shower really fast.

All Bella could think was how she did not want to go. Not at all.

Emily had left a black dress laying on the bed, J.J. Had bought this morning for Bella because Emily asked her. She didn't want her kid to use something she already had or anything like that. The dress was pretty, Isabella thought.

She had washed her hair and had it fallen on her shoulders. She put the dress on though she couldn't close it. Emily was getting dressed in the other room so she decided to wait for her to help and she started combing her hair instead. Emily came at the door also wearing a black dress J.J. bought.

"You look pretty" Bella said shyly and a little sad. Emily saw Bella's dress was still open on the back.

"Do you want help?" She asked. Isabella nodded yes and she went to help. She closed the dress and said "you look pretty too" giving Bella a sweet smile. Bella smiled back shyly.

"Do you want me to do your hair?" Emily asked.

Isabella loved when her mother did her hair so she nodded yes. They sat on the bed and Emily started combing Bella's hair. Half way through Bella started to cry. She was so scared. She didn't want to go. She wanted to stay home. She was quiet so at first Emily didn't see but when she realized she let the comb down and hugged Bella tight.

"Oh honey. Come here" she said dragging Bella to her lap. Isabella was crying but she wasn't make any noise. The tears were jumping out of her eyes but no sound came with them. She was so hurt and so scared. And also embarrassed because she couldn't keep herself from crying. Emily began rocking her slightly.

"I don't think I can do this" Bella said. Emily's heart sank by the tone of Bella's voice. She sounded so hurt.

"Oh honey. I'll be right there okay? I won't leave your side. I promise you" Emily said.

"I don't wanna go" Bella said crying.

"You have to baby" Emily said broken.

"I'll be right there"

"No mommy I can't" Bella cried.

"Yes you can. I know it hurts but you can do it alright?" Emily said.

"They gonna bury him to the ground mom"my" Isabella said almost not able to finish the sentence.

Emily didn't knew what to say so she just rocked Bella and squeezed her tight until she calmed down. It took a while for that to happen but she did. Emily wiped her daughter's tears. The hurt on the child's eyes was becoming too much for her. She felt like she was going to break down.

"I'll be right there with you. If you need to leave I'll take you away but you have to go alright?" Emily said trying to be strong for her girl.

"You promise you'll take me?" Bella asked.

"I promise baby" Emily said and gave Bella a kiss on the forehead. "Come on we have to go."

They got up and Emily finished combing Bella's hair. They went downstairs to find Marley and Jeremy waiting for them.

"Are you guys ready?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes" Emily said grabbing Bella's hand.

They headed to the car.

Emily sat next to Bella and didn't let go of her hand not even for one second the entire ride to the cemitery.

When they got there the team, the doctors, and a lot of other people were waiting.

John didnt have any other family members beside his kids.

Isabella stood next to her mom and held her hand tight as they walked towards all the people. She didnt want to be there. She didnt want to see or talk to anyone. She just wanted to go back home. But she knew she had to stay. So she was trying her best to keep her composure. Derek Shepherd came close to them.

"hey. are you okay?" he asked Bella.

"i'm fine" she said trying to avoid eye contact. She was doing that to everyone. She knew that if she saw someone crying she could possibly lose control and she didnt want that, specially not in front of everyone. Shepherd smiled and stood next to her. They just stood there for a while and then someone from the church was handing over roses for the people to put upon the coffin. The guy handed one to Derek Shepherd and moved to Bella. When she remembered what she was supposed to do with it she took a step back and hid her face behing her mother. Emily took the rose and said "i'll hold it for her"

"I'm sorry" the guy said.

Emily gave him a look as she was saying it was okay. He gave her another one for herself and walked away. Shepherd could see Isabella was begining to panic so he got behind her just in case she tried to run off. Emily turned around as soon as the guy handed her the rose. She wrapped her arms around Bella.

"It's okay honey. It's alright" she said. Bella was not crying. She was concentrating so hard not to.

Shepherd held her hand and the priest began talking.

The cerimony was alright.

John's friend Richard, who used to be his boss, gave an eulogy, and Jeremy spoke too. Isabella tried not to pay attention to what they were saying. When they were done the priest started talking again. There were a lot of people crying. Jeremy just hugged Marley and cried. Penelope and Derek Morgan were holding arms and penelope was crying. J.J. was standing beside Emily and she was crying too but she tried not to let Bella see it.

Isabella just held her mom's hand with one hand and Shepherd's with the other.

The priest finished talking and asked for them to lay the roses. Jeremy and Marley went. As soon as the laid it Emily began to take a step but Isabella froze on spot. Shepherd placed his hand on Bella's shoulder as a way of telling her to go ahead but she couldnt do it. She looked on Emily's eyes and Emily knew Bella couldnt take it anymore. She handed the roses to Derek and hugged Bella.

"I wanna go. Mommy i wanna go now" bella said as her tears started to fall. Derek handed the roses to Jeremy while Emily watched what he was doing and picked Bella up.

"Do this for your sister." Derek told Jeremy.

"sure" jeremy said waking to the coffin again as Emily handed Bella to Shepherd. She was crying but she was soundless. Emily didnt even realize she was crying too.

"I wanna go" Bella said.

"it's almost over" Derek whispered.

"mommy" she cried quietly. Emily held her hand.

"i'm right here. its alright." she said.

"it's almost done" Derek said.

The priest spoke again just to finish the Burial Service and as soon as he finished Derek started walking to the car. When they got to the car Emily went inside and opened her arms waiting for her daughter to come in and hug her.

And that was exactly what Isabella did. She was crying so much. So was so scared and she wanted to just leave that place.

"please i wanna go" Isabella cried.

Derek shepherd knew she had to get away from there.

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 ****** Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading this and reviewing. I love you guys!**

 **Are you excited to see Bella in dc?!**


	7. Chapter 7: All She Wanted

"please i wanna go" Isabella cried.

Derek shepherd knew she had to get away from there.

"I'm gonna give Meredith my keys and i'll drive you two. Jeremy and Marley can go with Meredith" he said. Emily just stayed there hugging her girl. They had decided the day before to gather at Derek's house because they didnt want any more bad on the appartment.

Shepherd went back to the car and drove them.

By the time they got to the house Isabella wasnt crying anymore but she was still hugging her mother. She just wished it was all over.

They walked inside to find the nanny with Zola and Bailey, derek and meredith's kids. Zola ran and hugged Bella.

"Bella" she said happily. She was to little to know exactly what was going on.

"Hi Zo" Bella said.

"why you sad?" she asked looking worried.

"i just dont feel very good. But it's okay" bella said trying to sound okay. Zola gave her a sweet smile.

"Zola can you help daddy with something in the kicthen?" Derek asked.

"yeah" Zola said happily and ran to the kicthen.

"Bella you can go to my room if you want to okay? or you can watch some tv." He said.

"Is everyone coming here?" She asked not sounding at all happy about it.

"not everyone. it will be a small gathering okay. Just the closest friends." Shepherd said.

"So all the doctors?" Bella asked.

"not all of them." Emily said giving her a sweet smile. "but look you can just hang out with me. Forget everyone" Emily said.

"like that's possible" Isabella said heading over to sit on the couch.

Derek looked at Emily slightly smiling thinking at least she wasnt super mad at everybody.

"So you'll watch tv?" He asked.

"yeah. i dont want to sleep." Bella said turning the tv on.

Derek headed to the kitchen and Emily sat next to Bella.

Isabella put on the history channel. A show about the creation of movies were on. She thought on her mind that her dad would have loved watching it. She smiled as tears filled her eyes. Emily looked at her wondering what was going on.

"I'm glad you're here mom" Isabella said and snuggled her mom on the couch.

"me too" Emily said. She decided not to say anything. So they just snuggled and watched tv while Derek was heating some food in the kitchen with Zola, and bailey was asleep on the stroller. Around 10 minutes into the show Emily realized Bella was asleep. She tried not to move so Bella could sleep a little. After about 5 minutes Meredith, Marley and Jeremy got to the house. They were followed by the others, including Emily's team. Jeremy couldn't believe Isabella was sleeping but he was glad she was.

When everyone was in they started talking and eating a little. After about 20 mintes Isabella woke up. Callie and Meredith were sitting on the couch beside hers. Penelope and J.J. were on the other in front. Bella sat up and then laid down her head on her mother's lap. She was awake but she was still really tired.

"How are you dong sweetie?" Callie asked.

"I'm okay now" Isabella lied.

"Do you want to eat something?" Emily asked.

"no" Isabella anwsered.

After that the rest of the day was alright. People stopped talking about John when they talked to Bella because everyone noticed it was making her uncomfortable. Her friend Cameron got there a little after Bella woke up. She had to have some time away because she was crying a lot and she didnt want bella to see her like that. When she got there she sat next to Emily on the couch.

About an hour later Isabella sat up and started paying attention to the tv. She seemed better.

"I'm going to the bathroom" Emily said. "I'll be right back" she kissed bella's forhead and left. Cameron scood over closer to Bella.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" she asked.

"sure" Bella said. J.J. saw how much Bella is like Emily. No matter what she was always trying to play it cool and act like nothing was wrong.

"Do you want some water?" J.J. asked Bella.

"No" Bella said.

Cameron got up and started going through the dvds. There were mostly kids movie. She picked up 'Alice in Wonderland', she knew Isabella always liked that movie.

"sure" Isabella said giving Cameron a little smile. Cameron put the movie in and sat next to Bella. As soon as it started Emily came back. She was standing behind the couch close to Bella. Isabella looked over at her. Emily smiled and went down to whisper something on Bella's ear.

"Do you want to go out with me?" She whispered.

"Yes." Bella said as if all the weight was being taken off her shoulders.

"come on" Emily said. Isabella got up and went to Emily's direction. Emily held her hand and dragged her to talk to Jeremy and Derek Shepherd, who were talking close to the kitchen island.

"hey" shepherd said when she saw them approaching. "everything okay?" he asked.

"yeah. unm. We're gonna go for a drive." Emily said. "I'll meet you back in the appartment Jeremy."

"okay." Jeremy said.

"and i see you later?" she said to Derek.

"I'll drop Jeremy and Marley off" Shepherd said. "Take care." He said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"see you later bella" Jeremy said with a warm smile.

"see you later" Isabella said.

They headed out without talking to anyone else. Emily just wanted to get Bella out of there and also herself. They got in the car and Emily asked "How about some ice cream?" she smiled.

"okay" Bella said with a tiny little smile. She wasnt feeling like eating anything but an ice cream shop sounded like a much better place to be then there so she said yes. They were quiet for the entire ride. Emily drove to the mall.

"weren't we going to get ice cream?" Isabella asked confused.

"The only ice cream shop I know in Seattle is in here." Emily said smiling. Isabella let out a breathy laugh. That made Emily smile even bigger.

"Come on Let's go" she said. They got out and walked towards the entrance. Isabella was holding her mothers hand. She was glad she was away from all those people now and just her mom was there.

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They went straight to the ice cream shop. They both got the same two flavors, their favorites, chocolate and mint. They sat on a table close to the entrance.

"So is it good?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Isabella said. And that was all they said till they finished eating.

"Do you want to walk around for a bit?" Emily asked. She wanted to give Bella some time away from it all.

"Sure" Bella said giving Emily a sweet smile.

They walked for a while, holding hands the entire time. Isabella spot the movie theater and ask "do you wanna watch a movie?"

Emily was surprised.

"Sure" Emily said with a warm smile. They walked to the movie theater. The next movie playing was 'Despicable me 2' an animation. Emily thought it was a better idea to watch something light like that so they went it.

About 30 minutes into the movie Isabella was fast asleep resting her head on Emily's arm.

Emily was glad at the way Bella was handling things. She knew Bella was hurt and scared and probably just wanted to be at home on her room but she could see the kid was trying. She let Bella sleep and woke her up when the movie was over.

"Hey. Wake up. We gotta go" Emily said softly. Isabella opened her eyes and was surprised she fell asleep in the movie theater, she never ever did that before.

"Is it over?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. Come on let's go" Emily said getting up. Isabella looked a bit embarrassed.

"How about some pizza now?" Emily asked trying to get Bella's mind of it.

"Sure" she said getting up. They got out and went to Pizza Hut, still at the mall.

"So pepperoni?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella said with a tender smile. She looked tired.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked worried.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired" Bella said.

"Do you wanna go home?" Emily asked.

"No it's fine. I like doing this" Bella said. Emily knew Bella didn't like shopping, not the kind of shopping most girls like, you know walking around forever and looking for something interesting. Bella never had enough patience to do that. If she went out thinking of buying something she usually just went to the place she thought might sell it. The truth was that what she meant was that she liked going out with her mom. They never really did that because Emily and John thought it was dangerous. They didn't want Emily to be seen with Bella so every time they saw each other was either in the house or in a hotel when Bella traveled with her dad. So they always just hanged out, talked and ordered in. Isabella also liked that but being out with her mom was nice.

"I like it too" Emily said smiling.

"We can do this sometimes right? When we're in dc " Isabella asked. She knew it would be different. She knew her mom would be working a lot but she was trying not to think to much about that.

"Of course we can" Emily smiled.

"Maybe your friends could go with us" Bella said.

"Sure"

"Penelope seems very fun. Even more than what you told me" Bella said.

"Yeah. She's cool right?!" Emily said.

"All your friends are mom" Bella said making Emily laugh. "You all work for the fbi that already makes all of them and you cooler than most people I know" Bella said.

"I'm glad you think I'm cool" Emily said.

"You're the coolest mom ever" Bella said smiling. Emily smiled too. She squeezed Bella's hand and said "you are the coolest kid ever". They were interrupted by the waitress. They ordered and it didn't take long for he food to get there.

they chit chat about the food and the mall. Isabella pretty much just played around with the food. She barely ate. Emily saw that but chose to ignore it. When they were done they headed to the car. Once again holding hands.

"So do you want to go anywhere else or just home?" Emily asked.

"Home is fine" Bella said.

Emily could see that Bella was tensing again.

"We could watch a movie tonight. Maybe ask J.J and Penelope to stay over" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said not looking to excited.

"So let's stop to get some snacks" Emily said driving to the parking lot of Walmart. They went around the store and grabbed some things. They were in there for about 30 minutes. Then Emily drove to the house.

When they got there no one was back.

"I'm going to my room okay?" Isabella said when they walked in. She walked fast.

"Okay." Emily said as Isabella was already starting to go upstairs. When Bella was halfway up Emily's head pooped on the beginning of the stairs.

"I'll be right up" she said. Isabella looked at her, Bella was smiling as a way of saying thank you. Emily sat on the couch to give Bella some time by herself.

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Upstairs Bella laid on her bed. Tears started to fall. She still couldnt quite believe that all of that was happening. She so scared. She didn't knew what to do or what to say to people. She was happy her mom was there but she was scared at the same time. She couldn't stop thinking of everything her parents did to protect her and now she's with her mom like none of that happened. She was scared someone could hurt her and her mom too. She was scared of her mom's work. She knew what her mother did and she knew people can get hurt on the field and she was so scared something would happen to her mom. She couldn't even begin to think about it without crying. She couldn't lose her mom too. She just couldn't.

Isabella was trying her best not to sob. Emily went upstairs and opened Bella's bedroom door. When she realized Isabella was crying she didn't say anything. She walked in and laid next to Bella. She wrapped her arm around her and just stayed there quiet. Isabella silently cried herself to sleep.

Emily couldn't believe all of that was happening to her baby. She tried to put herself in Bella's shoes in a way to help her.

She thought it could help her to understand why Bella was holding it in so much. But the fact was she already knew.

Isabella was just like her. Emily was a stone. She never broke in front of Bella and she knew John never did too. She knew Isabella always tried to be strong. She always tried not to let her feelings show. She could only let her guard down with Emily. And that was what was scaring Emily.

Isabella was crying about all that was happening but she didn't break down. She didn't really admit her dad was gone and that she missed him. She just wouldn't talk about it. Emily knew Bella would explode sooner or later and that was breaking her. She knew all she could do was be there for her kid. But all she wanted was to make Bella's pain go away. That's all she wanted.


	8. Chapter 8: Can't Sleep

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Jeremy got home and everything was quiet. He went upstairs to see if Emily and Bella were home. He found both asleep on Bella's bed.

Isabella opened her eyes.

"Hi" he whispered.

"Hi" she whispered back.

"I thought you were sleeping"

"I didn't want to wake her. She's tired" Bella said still whispering.

Jeremy nodded.

"Are you okay?" Isabella asked.

"I don't know. You?"

"No" she said.

"I guess I'm not too" he said and suddenly Emily woke up.

"Hi. I'm sorry" said Jeremy.

"It's alright." Emily said. "How long were you awake?" She asked Bella.

"Not long" Isabella answered.

"Well JJ and Penelope came with us. They're downstairs. We bought some food" Jeremy said.

"Okay" Emily said. "We'll be down in a minute" she sat up on the bed. And Jeremy left.

Isabella looked alright but she seemed very tired.

"So we can eat a little and then make their beds over there" she said pointing to the floor at the end of Isabella's bed. "They can watch it on your bed and then sleep in there. What do you think?" She asked.

"Okay" Bella said not sounding excited at all.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"Nothing I'm just tired" Bella answered.

Emily smiled at her. She knew it wasn't that but she didn't want to force Bella into talking.

"Let's go eat" Emily said getting off the bed.

They went downstairs.

"Hi" said JJ when they got there.

"Hi" said Emily.

Penelope gave Bella a hug.

"We brought food" JJ said.

Emily and Bella went to the kitchen island to find the food.

"I'm not really hungry mom" Bella said with a low voice hoping only her mom could hear it.

"Just eat a little bit okay?" Emily said running her hand on Bella's back.

"Just a little" Isabella said with disappointment. She didn't feel like eating at all. She just wanted to go to bed.

They had brought pasta so Emily poured some for Bella.

"That's too much" Isabella said.

"Eat as much as you can" Emily said handing over the plate to Bella.

Isabella sat on the island stool and began eating. Emily and JJ sat next to her eating too. Penelope wasn't hungry so she just stood there waiting for someone to say something but everyone was quiet the entire time. Bella didn't even ate half of the pasta on her plate, which didn't had too much at all. Emily had put just a little because she knew the kid wouldn't eat a lot but Bella barely ate.

"I'm full" Bella said hoping no one would notice her plate too full But Emily noticed of course. She didn't want to force her to eat so she said "throw what's left away and go brush your teeth"

Isabella got up and did what she was told. She went upstairs to brush her teeth Leaving Emily, JJ and Penelope by themselves downstairs.

Jeremy was taking a shower and Marley was asleep in his room.

"So she's not eating much" JJ said.

"Yeah." Emily said.

"She'll come around you know. She's just scared." JJ said.

"She's gonna be okay" Penelope said. "It hurts like hell but she'll get through it" Penelope knew how it felt. She lost both of her parents in a car accident when she was a teenager. She knew how bad it hurts but she also knew Bella would get through it. The pain would go away little by little until it get to a point where it doesn't hurt so much.

"She's a tough kid" JJ said.

"Just like her mama" Penelope said making both of them smile.

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After a while Isabella went downstairs and sat on the couch. She had taken a shower and put on pajamas. She was brushing her wet hair when Penelope sat next to her.

"Do you want some help with that?" She asked.

"It's fine" Isabella said looking at the tv.

"are you sure?" Penelope asked. Isabella smiled and handed the comb to Penelope who smiled big. The kid turned around and Penelope started brushing it.

"So what do you want?" She asked happily.

"I don't know" Bella said. She didn't really like when other people beside her mom combed her hair but Penelope was okay.

"How about a braid? Do you like braids?" Penelope said excited.

"Sure" Bella said.

Emily could see them from the island. She was happy her kid was getting along with Penelope. She thought Bella would spend a lot of times with Penelope once she moved in with her. Emily and JJ loaded the dish washer. When they were done Bella was laying her head on Penelope's lap and her hair was on a beautiful long French braid.

"It looks good" Emily said surprised Bella actually let Penelope braid her hair. Besides Emily, Callie and Cameron were the only ones Isabella let do anything to her hair.

"So JJ could you help me make your beds?" Emily asked.

"Sure" JJ said and they went upstairs.

.

It took about 20 minutes for them to fix everything. Penelope and Bella stayed downstairs. They were watching 'The voice' when Emily went down to get them.

"All done" Emily said. They got up and went upstairs. Emily had already picked the dvd.

"We're gonna watch X-men" said JJ when the girls got in the room.

Emily wanted something light and fun to try to take Bella's mind of things and she knew the girl loved x-men.

Isabella climbed up her bed and laid down. Everyone squeezed in.

"So you snuggle your mom and I snuggle Penelope" JJ said smiling.

"Okay" Bella said with a sweet smile. She hugged her mom tight.

20 minutes in and Bella was out. The girls started talking about her and everything that was going on, and about her moving in with Emily and the work. They talked till the middle of the movie when Bella woke up.

She woke up from a bed dream.

She hugged Emily tight and tried to hold the tears in but she failed.

"Hey it's okay. You're okay" Emily said hugging her daughter. "It's late. Try to go back to sleep. Close your eyes" Emily said. Isabella didn't want to. She was scared and she didn't want to have another nightmare. Emily could see that.

"Hey. It's okay honey. I'm here" Emily said.

"We all are" JJ said.

Isabella held Emily tight and closed her eyes.

"Don't worry We are right here" Emily said running her hand on Bella's back.

It took 7 minutes for her to go back to sleep. Everyone was so tired so they went to sleep too. 20 minutes after that Bella woke up again. She sat on the bed and she was sweating. Emily sat up and hugged her tight.

"It's alright. You're okay" she said.

Isabella wasn't crying this time but she had a terrified look on her face.

"Come here. Lay down" Emily said.

"It's gonna be alright"

"Mom" Bella said. The pain in her voice broke Emily's heart. "I'm scared"

"I'm right here" Emily said snuggling Bella. "everything is gonna be alright" she said.

Isabella didn't say anything. She just laid there.

Emily were so tired she fell asleep before Bella did.

About an hour later Isabella woke up again. This time she didn't jump or even sat on the bed. She just stayed laying down. She looked over at her mother sleeping and the tears started to fall. She was so scared but she didn't want to wake her mom again. She knew her mother was tired too. So she just stayed there silently crying. She didn't even noticed Penelope was awake until Penelope sat and said "psss" calling quietly for Bella. "Come lay down with me" Penelope said.

Isabella went down to the mattress on the floor where Penelope was laying. Penelope hugged her tight and Bella cried even more.

"It's gonna be okay sweetie" Penelope said.

"No it's not" Bella cried.

"I know it will. I promise you" Penelope said.

"How can you know that?" Bella said not believing in Penelope.

"Because I lost my dad too" Penelope said and Isabella froze.

"You did?" The girl asked.

"Yeah. Both my parents. I was older than you. It was a car crash" Penelope said pausing to let that sink in to Bella. "And I promise it's gonna be okay."

"Really?" Bella asked with tears rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't believe she was crying like that in front of Penelope.

"It will hurt for a while. Really bad. But the pain starts to go away and it gets to a point that it doesn't hurt so much anymore."

"I swear to you." Penelope said wiping Bella's tears away.

"Thank you" Isabella whispered.

Suddenly Emily woke up. She realized Bella wasn't by her side so she sat up and found Bella on the floor with Penelope.

"Hey" she said. "What happened?" She asked worried.

"Nothing I'm fine" Bella said. Emily could see she had been crying.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She asked.

"You need to sleep too mom" Bella said giving Emily a little smile.

"So do you want to stay up here with me or there with your aunt Penelope?" Emily asked. She was happy her kid was with Penelope. She was happy Bella seemed to trust her.

Isabella looked at Penelope and said embarrassed "I'm sorry but I'm gonna go with mom okay".

Penelope smiled "okay" she said.

Bella climbed up and snuggled her mother.

"Anything you wake me up" Emily said serious but with a little smile.

"Okay" Bella said. Isabella closed her eyes. She was feeling a bit better after talking to Penelope. And she was hoping everything Penelope told her was true.

It didn't take long for them to sleep but After an hour Bella woke up again. Just like the last time she just laid there but this time she held her tears in. She stayed there for a while looking at the ceiling and at her mother. She looked over at her night stand and the book 'the 100' was there so she picked it up and decided to start reading it. She read all night. It was about 7:30 when She put the book on the bed next to her and fell asleep.

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Emily woke up at 8. She was surprised to find Bella sleeping But she noticed the book on the bed. She picked it up and saw the book mark at the middle of the epilogue.

She knew That book was new and Bella hadn't start it the day before so she figured she read it all night. She got up and went to the bathroom.

When she got back she found Isabella awake with JJ and Penelope on her bed.

"Good morning" Penelope said.

"Good morning" Emily replied.

"I'm starving" JJ said.

"Let get some breakfast then" Penelope said. They all got up and Emily hugged Bella.

"Good morning baby" she said.

"Morning mom" Bella whispered.

They went downstairs and had breakfast. Bella went up to brush her teeth afterwards and it wasn't long till Emily went up to talk to her.

"Hey" said Emily sitting on Bella's bed. Bella smiled from the bathroom and walked to the bed to sit next to her mom but Emily pulled her to her lap.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked.

"I guess so" Bella said.

"You read that book last night didn't you?" Emily asked and Bella looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep" Bella said.

"Hey don't apologize okay?" Emily said.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She asked.

"You need to sleep too mom. And I was fine. I just couldn't sleep so I read it" Bella said.

"You need to wake me up, okay?" Emily Said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Promise me you will" Emily said. "Either me or Penelope or JJ. Okay?" She said.

"Okay" Bella agreed.

"Promise " Emily said with a serious tone.

"I promise" Bella said and Emily hugged her.

They were interrupted by Jeremy.

"Hi" he said coming inside the bedroom.

"Good morning" Bella said.

"Good morning. I have to go to the Practice to pick up some stuff but I'll be back soon" he said.

"Okay" Emily said.

"Marley is coming with me"

"Alright" Emily agreed.

"Anything just call" he said and Emily nodded yes.

He left and JJ got in.

"The team is coming over" she said and Emily smiled. She was happy she had them and She sure needed some support.

"I need a shower" Bella said getting up. Emily and JJ smiled.

She looked a bit better even though they could see she was tired and had been crying.

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When Bella got out of the shower she put her clothes on and went downstairs to look for her mom. She unintentionally got her hair wet and she could use some comforting of her mom combing it. She always felt good with that.

"Mom?" She said when she got downstairs. She saw the team was sitting watching tv.

"Good morning tiny prentiss" said Derek Morgan.

"Good morning" Isabella said shyly.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. Unm can you?" Bella said holding the comb up.

"Can I?" Penelope asked happily and Everyone laughed.

"Sure" Bella said with a sweet smile. She really liked Penelope.

"Yay! Come here" Penelope said and Isabella walked over and sat on the floor. Penelope kneed down and started to comb it.

"Can you do like yesterday?" Bella asked.

"Of course I can sugarplum" Penelope said happily And in a couple of minutes she was done.

"All done" she said.

"Thanks" said Bella getting up.

"It looks cool" Spencer said.

"Thanks" Isabella said walking to the guest bathroom they had downstairs.

She placed the comb on the sink and went out.

Emily was getting water from the fridge.

"Want some?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said walking over there. Emily poured some and handed the cup to Bella who drank half of it. She threw the rest on the sink and sat on the island stool. When Emily was done drinking she said "come sit with me" and grabbed Bella's hand.

They walked over to the couch. Emily sat and Bella sat on her lap. Emily laid her back and Bella just got to a comfortable position and snuggled her mom.

"You two are too cute you know that?" Derek M. said and Everyone smiled including Bella. They watched some tv and Bella ended up falling asleep.

"Come on. That's adorable" Derek said when he realized Bella was sleeping.

"She's so cute isn't she?" Penelope said and everyone just smiled.

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Bella woke up after 15 minutes. She was tired from being awake reading but she just couldn't really sleep. A little time after she woke up Emily said "why don't you play some chess with Reid?"

"She plays chess?" Reid asked surprised.

"She always win when we play" Emily admitted.

"Do you want to play? Just one game." Spencer said excited.

"Sure" Isabella said. She got up and went to get the game. She had this Harry Potter chess Emily have her last year for her big 10th birthday. She took the box from the guest room and set it up on the kitchen island.

"Wow. This is a pretty game" Spencer said.

"It's from Harry Potter. Mom gave it to me" Bella said smiling. She liked paying chess.

Emily knew chess was one of the things that made Bella concentrate and she thought the kid could use some of that. Bella almost won the first game. She was so close but Reid won.

"You are good" he said surprise at how she could be so good at only 10 years old.

"Thanks" Bella said smiling.

"Did your mom teach you how to play?" David asked.

"Yeah." Bella said.

"Wanna play again?" Spencer said.

"Sure" Bella said.

Isabella lost again. She didn't mind losing to Spencer. He was a genius after all.

"Maybe we can play more when you go to dc" he said.

"Sure" Bella said smiling. She liked the idea But the thought of moving to dc scared her. Spencer realized she got bit tense.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm fine" Bella said smiling again. "Maybe we can play another later" she said.

"I'd love that" Spencer said smiling. "You're amazing for a 10 year-old. I mean for any year old" he said and Bella laughed.

"Thanks" she said and got up and went to sit on the couch again.

They watched some tv.

Around 12:30 Penelope and JJ were hungry.

"Do you guys want to eat out?" Penelope said. She was hungry and she also thought that could help Bella a little. No one said anything they just looked at Emily.

"Do you want to go?" Emily asked Bella.

"Sure" Isabella said. She didn't sound too excited but she didn't sound sad either.

"Alright let's go now cause I'm starving." JJ said.

While they were living the apartment Jeremy came back.

"Where are you guys going?" He asked.

"We don't know yet. Some place to eat" JJ said.

"Come with us" Emily said.

"I'm actually going to get some sleep. I'm going back to work tomorrow" he said.

"Tomorrow?" Emily asked surprised.

"They're not giving you some time off?" JJ asked.

"They are but I need to work" he said. He felt good at work and it took his mind off of things.

"Oh okay" Emily said.

"We see you later then" Derek M said.

"Okay sure" Jeremy said and got inside.

Emily could see Bella didn't really understood what just happened.

Bella was to asking herself how could he could just go ahead and do what he was doing before. She couldn't understand how he seemed fine.

Emily grabbed her hand.

"I've got you" she said. They walked to the car and Everyone got into the suv and decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory. Bella actually had a great time there. She still couldn't get all the thoughts about her dad out of her mind but there were times she got distracted by their conversation and felt a bit better.

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They got to the house it was almost 2.

"Do you want to play again?" Isabella asked Spencer as soon as they went inside.

"I'd love to" he said walking to the island. They sat down and started playing while The others went to watch some tv.

Isabella chewed her lip and glanced at Reid. He didn't really give much away but she was used to playing with Emily so she was used to that. She studied the board again, and a moment later reached out to move.

"Good," David smiled sitting down at one of the stools at the island impressed with Bella.

Emily was practically glowing with pride as she came and stoop close to them with JJ.

"You've got this," David said quietly. "Just think."

Bella exhaled, chewing on her lip. She put herself in Reid's shoes; imagined herself playing the pieces. She spotted a move she had glanced over earlier. It putted Spencer in check. With her mother's poker face, she reached over and moved her piece. When she saw the surprise in Spencer's face, she wanted to smile big. Instead, she stayed serious.

"Is she going to win?" JJ whispered to Emily.

"She might" Emily laughed.

Two moves later, Bella didn't suppress a satisfied grin as she reached over and moved her queen.

"Checkmate," she said and everyone cheered.

"Got yourself a little genius here, Prentiss," David told to Emily.

"Yes, sir, I do," Emily nodded.

"Nice work" David told Bella and she smiled at him.

Spencer was still staring at the chess pieces.

"Come on, kid," Derek nudged him. "Don't sweat it."

"I'm not upset," Reid immediately replied. "I'm curious. She had an unique style"

"thanks" Isabella said with a sweet smile. Spencer nodded slowly, eyeing the board, until finally he stood up.

"Good game," he said.

"Thanks," Bella smiled. "You too."

"Thanks," Reid nodded. "We'll play again sometime?"

"Absolutely," Bella nodded. She liked chess and she certainly liked Spencer. He was nice and was the only one who wasn't asking if she was okay all the time. She liked that. She was feeling very tired. She figured it was from staying awake almost all night. She got off the chair and said "I'm gonna go upstairs okay?" She didn't look sad or anything. She act normal.

"Okay" Emily said.

"Can you come up soon?" Bella asked.

She wanted to rest but she wanted her mother with her.

"Sure I'll be right up" Emily said.

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 ****** There you go. A big chapter to make you guys happy =)**

 **Well, please let me know your thoughts on this story so far. I'm loving writing this and i hope you guys are enjoying.**

 **xo, B**


	9. Chapter 9: Breaking Down

...

Isabella got to her room and just laid on the bed. She was really tired but she couldn't sleep.

"Told you that you'd like them," Emily said opening the door. She walked over to the bed and sat facing bella.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'm just tired" Isabella said.

"Let's try to get some sleep then" Emily said lying down next to her daughter. Isabella moved closer to her.

"Mom?" She said.

"Yeah"

"When are we going to dc?"

"I'm thinking maybe Sunday" Emily said.

It was Wednesday so she thought till Sunday they would have some time to get ready.

"What do you think?" Emily asked bella.

"Sunday is fine" she said hugging her mom.

They stayed hugging and not a noise was made till about 12 minutes later when Bella sat on the bed and said "I can't sleep"

"Neither can I" Emily said.

Bella looked tired and upset about the fact she wasn't really able to sleep.

"Do you want to go for a ride?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella said getting up. "Anything is better just just staying here"

Emily got up and they headed downstairs. They found JJ on her way up.

"Hey I was gonna tell you that we were heading to the hotel" JJ said.

"Alright. I'm going for a ride with Bella" Emily said.

"Okay. Oh and Hotch wants to go back tomorrow so we have to go" JJ said.

"You're leaving?" Isabella asked Emily and They could see the scared look on her face.

"No no. It's just us. Your mom is staying" JJ said and gave Bella a hug. She could feel the kid was tensed.

"Hey." Emily said softly and Isabella looked at her. "I'm not going anywhere" she said giving bella a warm smile. "Okay?"

"Alright" Bella agreed. They walked to the kitchen and headed off.

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Emily drove without a destination for a while and then bella said "do you want to get ice cream again?"

"I sure do" Emily said smiling. She was happy bella wanted to do things But she knew that was all an act to cover up the pain she didn't want to let out. Emily knew that with time she would be okay though.

.

They went to the mall and to the ice cream shop. Once again got the same flavors. When they were done Isabella was really really tired. She felt like if she laid her head down somewhere she would fall asleep.

"Can we go home now?" Bella said.

"Sure. Are you alright?" Emily asked concerned.

"Yeah. I'm just tired" she said. They got up. Emily threw her arm around bella and they went to the car. Isabella fell asleep on the way home. When they got there Emily had to wake her up.

"Hey. We're home" she said softly.

Bella opened her eyes and stretched, making Emily laugh.

They got out of the car and went up. Isabella went straight to the couch. She new she wouldn't sleep anymore. The tiredness was there but she didn't feel like sleeping. She turned the tv and started watching 'baby mama'.

Emily sat next to her.

"Hey. Lay here" Emily said placing a pillow on her lap. Bella laid down and they just watched the movie.

Isabella felt like her head was going to a hundred million places at the same time. She was thinking about her dad, and about moving to dc, about her mom going to work and what she would do, Where would she stay. She was scared. She was scared about all of that and about the fact that living with her mom would make all they did to protect her before disappear. She knew if those bad people wanted they would find her And she was so scared about that.

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The movie was almost over when JJ called.

"Hey. What are you two up to?" She asked.

"Just watching a movie" Emily said.

"Penelope wants to know if her and I can stop by" JJ asked laughing at Penelope doing some sort of sign language telling her to ask.

"Of course." Emily said laughing.

"Tell little Prentiss I'm bringing ice cream" JJ said. "Chocolate right?" She asked.

"Yup" Emily agreed smiling.

"Alright. We'll be there soon then" JJ said and hang up.

"Who was it?" Bella asked.

"JJ and Penelope are coming over" Emily said hoping bella would be okay with that. Isabella didn't say anything.

"They are bringing ice cream" Emily said with a smile.

"Cool" Bella said still paying attention to the tv.

"Hey. If you don't want them here I can tell them not to come" Emily said. She knew her friends would understand.

"No mom it's fine." Isabella said now staring at her mother.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. I like them" Bella said with a little smile and sat up. "I'm gonna take a shower, okay?"

"Alright" Emily agreed. Isabella went up to her bathroom. She didn't mind them coming over but she felt so tired. She just wasn't on the mood for talking much.

She put on pajamas and headed downstairs.

The girls were sitting in the living room.

"Hey mini" Penelope said smiling.

"Hi" Bella said.

"We brought ice cream" Penelope said.

"Thanks but I'm not really hungry" bella said heading to the couch her mom was sitting.

"You don't have to be hungry to eat ice cream" Emily said.

"I don't want ice cream right now" Bella said. She sat on her mom's lap and snuggled her.

"Alright. Later then" Emily said.

They stayed there for a while watching tv and bella didn't let go of her mom. When the program they were watching ended Emily said "you guys can stay over if you want. Jeremy went to his place with Marley"

"Sure if that's okay" JJ said signing bella on Emily's lap. Isabella was listening but she wasn't looking at them.

"Is it alright if they stay over?" Emily asked her.

"Sure" Bella said and closed her eyes.

She was so tired.

Their conversation was cut off by the buzzer. JJ went to answer since Emily had bella.

It was Callie and she stopped by to check on bella. Isabella was almost asleep on her mother's arms when Callie got to the living room.

"Hey. Look who's here" Emily said petting Bella's hair. Isabella opened her eyes and when she saw Callie she opened up her arms as a way of asking for a hug. Callie hugged and and sat next to Emily on the couch.

" so how's everything munchkin?" Callie asked. Isabella got out of Emily's lap and sat on Callie's.

" it's fine I guess" she said. She looked sad and tired.

"Anything you call me okay?" Callie said. Isabella nodded yes. "Tomorrow I'm not on call so I can bring Sofia over if you want" she said and bella nodded yes.

"Alright" Callie smiled.

"I'm gonna go to my room now okay?" Isabella said to Emily.

"Alright. Come on" Emily said getting up. Isabella got up and they headed upstairs. Emily was still holding her hand when Bella laid down on the bed. Emily started to tuck her in.

"Are you tucking me in?" Bella asked embarrassed.

"Yes" Emily said smiling.

"You don't have to do that" Bella said.

"I know. But I want to" Emily said sitting on the bed.

"I'm going to shower and I'll be right back okay" she said and Isabella nodded yes.

"I love you" Emily said.

"I love you too mommy" Bella replied. Emily kissed her forehead and said "goodnight"

"Goodnight" Bella said.

Emily walked out of the room and went downstairs. Isabella closed her eyes and tried to sleep but her mind was going crazy with all those thoughts. She couldn't sleep. She was so tired and she wanted to sleep so much but she just couldn't.

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Downstairs Emily got to the living room and sat on the couch.

"She's not sleeping well is she?" Callie asked.

"No" Emily said. "She's in and out all night. And more awake than sleeping"

"She looks really tired" Penelope said.

"Yeah" Emily agreed. "I just hope she can sleep tonight"

"I just hope this won't be like Robbie" Callie said.

Robbie was Isabella's dog who died of a stomach infection. When he died she couldn't sleep well for more than a week. She kept having nightmares and stopped eating just like she was now.

"How's her appetite?" Callie asked.

"What appetite?" Emily said. "She barely touches the food" she said with a look of disappointment.

"Hey. She'll be alright" Callie said.

"She's tough Em" JJ said.

"She's hurt Emily. She just needs some time" Callie said.

"I know" Emily said. Emily knew Bella was a very strong kid but she also knew she hid her feelings. She only opened up to Emily but she wasn't even doing that this time.

"She'll be okay" Penelope said.

"Well I have to go. It's late and Sofia's with the sitter. I just came to check on her." Callie said.

"Thanks for coming" Emily said and Callie smiled.

"Well I see you guys tomorrow" she said walking to the door. Emily walked with her.

"Anything call me" Callie said giving Emily's hand a squeeze. Emily smiled and Callie went home.

Emily headed back to the living room.

"You guys can stay at Jeremy's room or where you were yesterday. You chose" Emily said.

"I think where we were yesterday is better" Penelope said. "In case bella wakes up"

"Okay" Emily said. "I'm gonna take shower really quick" she said heading to her bag to get her clothes.

Penelope and JJ had taken a shower at the hotel and they didn't bring pajamas so Emily landed JJ pajamas shorts and Penelope was wearing a dress so she just used that. They went up to the bedroom to find bella awake still. Emily climbed on the bed and Penelope and JJ laid on the mattress on the floor.

"Goodnight" both said at the same time.

"Goodnight" Emily said. Isabella didn't say anything. She just starred at her mom. Her eyes were almost closing. Emily snuggled her.

"Close your eyes. I'm right here" Emily whispered to bella.

"Don't leave" Bella said.

"I'm not going anywhere." Emily said hugging Isabella tighter. It wasn't long till bella was sleeping and right after Emily slept too. Penelope was the last one to sleep. She wanted to wait to make sure everyone was okay. She looked up at the bed and saw Bella and Emily sleeping hugging each other so she laid back down and fell asleep too.

After about half an hour Isabella started sweating and moving a lot. Emily woke up and hugged her and kept telling her everything was okay. Isabella opened her eyes and Emily could see all the fear in them. The kid was terrified. Emily sat on the bed and picked bella up.

"It's alright. It was just a bad dream. Just a dream" Emily kept saying while Isabella cried. JJ woke up. She saw Bella was crying so she pretended she was asleep. She knew Bella was embarrassed of crying in front of people. Bella cried for just a little while and suddenly started wiping the tears out of her face and laid down.

"I'm right here" Emily said laying next to Bella and holding her hand.

"Don't leave" Bella said looking straight to Emily's eyes.

Emily nodded yes, hugged Bella and said "try to go back to sleep baby. It's gonna be okay" Emily said softly.

Isabella closed her eyes and hugged Emily tight.

After 10 minutes Emily was asleep. She thought Isabella slept too because she was so still but she didn't sleep. She was still because she was trying to but she couldn't. After a while Emily let bella lose a little and bella moved away a bit. Tears started rolling down her face because she wanted to sleep so bad but she just wasn't able too. She wanted to wake Emily up but she knew her mom was tired too so she decided not to. She tried hard not to make a sound. She was crying so much she didn't want anyone to wake up and see her like that. She started sobbing a bit but quietly. After a couple of minutes Emily woke up. When she saw Isabella crying she moved closer to her.

"Honey what happened?" She asked softly.

"I can't sleep" Isabella said crying even more.

"Come here" Emily said hugging her.

"I'm so tired mom. I want to sleep" she cried louder. Penelope and JJ woke up. Emily was hugging bella tight.

"It's okay. I know you're tired" she said handing over Bella's blanket to her. She had that since she was a baby but when she turned 6 she started to leave it under her pillow because she was embarrassed about it.

"I just want to sleep mommy" Isabella let out a sob and then she couldn't stop anymore.

Bella tried to cover her face, as Emily pulled her, forcing her to sit on the bed. She wrapped Bella in her arms. She pulled her into her lap and she let her cry. Emily hated that sound. Isabella sobs clawed at her heart and made her furious that she couldn't stop them. Bella hadn't really let herself feel much the fact that her dad was gone. She tried as hard as she could to be strong. She's shed tears but she didn't break down. As much as she hated to see her daughter in pain, she just held onto her and let her cry.

Emily held Bella's head against her chest, and slowly began to rock.

"It okay it's okay" she kept saying.

"No it's not" bella said loud. She was sobbing so loud that made Penelope cry too.

"Baby I promise you it will be okay. Close your eyes mommy is right here" Emily said rocking bella even more now.

"I want my dad" Isabella let it out. That broke Emily's heart. "I just want daddy" she sobbed.

"I know honey. I'm sorry" Emily said. She couldn't hold her tears anymore. "I'm so sorry" she said.

"Mommy I'm scared. I'm so scared" Isabella cried.

"You're gonna be alright. Okay? You're gonna be fine. I'm right here. It's gonna be okay" Emily said rocking bella.

"Please don't leave me too. Okay?" Isabella cried and hugged Emily even tighter.

"I don't have anyone else please. Please I can't lose you too mommy"

At that moment Emily realized what was going on and her heart sank. She realized what Isabella was so scared of. She was scared of losing her mother too. Emily hugged her tight and rocked her.

"I'm not leaving you okay? I'm not going anywhere" Emily said crying too.

Penelope and JJ were in tears.

"Calm down calm Down I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere" Emily said. She just waited Bella release all of the pressure that had been building up in her chest.

"I don't want to feel like this anymore," Isabella said, her voice thick with tears.

"I know, baby, i know. It's gonna get better I promise" Emily soothed quietly.

"Shuu Shuu" Emily kept saying while rocking Bella. And she kept doing that until Isabella cried herself to sleep around 13 minutes later.

Emily didn't want to put her down because she didn't want her to wake up so she just kept holding her and rocking her slightly to make sure she would stay sleeping. Penelope and JJ sat up on the bed. They had never seen Emily cry like that.

"Em. She's gonna be okay" Penelope said.

"I just wish I could make it stop. She's so little she doesn't deserve any of this. She's so scared" Emily said her tears starting to come out again.

"I know how this feel and I'm telling you she'll get through this Em. I promise you that" Penelope said.

Emily gave a sweet smile and JJ and Penelope smiled back.

"She's gonna be alright" JJ said.

They just stayed there sitting quietly while Emily rocked sleeping Bella in her arms.

"You guys should sleep" Emily said after a while.

"Anything just wake us up okay?" JJ said.

"We're family too" Penelope added.

"Okay" Emily said.

JJ and Penelope went to the mattress and it wasn't to long till they fell asleep. They were very tired too. Emily didn't sleep. She turned the tv on and put the volume down. She rocked Bella for a while longer and then she just sat there not taking her eyes of her baby. She just wished she could take all the pain and fear away from her. She just wanted to make it all better. But she couldn't. She knew she had to give her time. She knew Bella was strong and she believed she would get through it. Emily just stayed awake all night holding her daughter in her arms and hoping she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night again.

Around 5am Bella opened her eyes.

"Mommy?" She whispered. Emily hugged her tight and rocked her.

"I'm right here. Close your eyes. Mommy is right here" she whispered in Bella's ear. Isabella was so tired that she closed her eyes and slept till almost 8 am.

"Hi" said Emily when Bella opened her eyes. Isabella didn't say anything she just hugged her mom tight.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked.

And for the first time after what happened Isabella answered honestly "no" she said with tears in her eyes. Emily squeezed her tighter.

"I'm right here" she said.

"I miss him mom" Isabella said. Emily didn't knew what to say. She just hugged Bella and started to rock her a little again. Penelope woke up and sat on Bella's bed quietly.

"It's everything okay?" She asked after a while.

"Yeah. She's gonna be fine" Emily said.

"Bella." Penelope said.

Isabella turned her head and stared at Penelope.

"Your mom is not all you have" she said with tears in her eyes. "You have all of us. And you always will. We're family"

Isabella let go of her mom and hugged Penelope.

"And we'll protect each other okay? You don't have to worry. Nothing is gonna happen to you or your mom okay?" She said still hugging Bella.

"Okay" Bella said. She let go of Penelope and laid next to her mother.

"Do you want to sleep again?" Emily asked.

"No. I just wanna stay here for a while." Isabella said. Emily laid on the bed and snuggled Bella. Penelope laid too leaving Bella in the middle.

"We've got you" Penelope said. Emily smiled. She was glad she had her team. It wasn't long till JJ woke up and went in the bed with them.

After a while the buzzer went on.

"I'll go" said JJ jumping off the bed. She went and answered it and it was Callie with Sofia. It was almost 8:30 and they had scheduled to 8 because that was the time Arizona would head of to the hospital.

"It's Callie" JJ screamed from the bottom of the stairs.

"Let's go" Emily said. Isabella got up and went downstairs. She was holding her mother's hand and they were followed by Penelope.


	10. Chapter 10: Hard Times

...

When they got to the bottom of the stairs Sofia spotted Bella and ran to her.

"Hi soso" Bella said picking Sofia up. Callie was surprised to find Bella wearing long sleeves pajamas and pants. Isabella didn't like that, she always felt to hot with those types. Callie could also see her face was a bit swollen from crying. She looked over at Emily and smiled.

"How's everyone?" She asked.

"Good" Penelope said.

"Mommy I'm hungry" Sofia said still on Bella's arms.

"Do you want some cereal ?" Bella asked.

"Yeah" Sofia said. Callie didn't give Sofia breakfast because she knew Bella wasn't eating well and she thought her daughter having breakfast with Bella could help. But she was wrong.

Everyone was sitting at the kitchen island while Emily and Callie grabbed the things.

"Which one do you want?" Asked Emily to Bella holding up Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes.

"I'm not hungry. I just want some juice" Bella said. Emily gave her an understanding smile.

"Just a little bit?" Emily asked and Bella shook her head no.

"Keep Sofia company honey" Callie said.

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't mind" Isabella said. "I'm not hungry." She said serious.

"Alright. But you are eating lunch later today. Okay?" Emily said.

"Sure" Isabella said grabbing her glass of orange juice.

There was not much talking at breakfast. They just talked a little about Sofia funny way of eating cereal and that was it. When Bella was done with her juice she said she was going to take a shower and went upstairs. That gave the older women some time to talk.

"What happened last night?" Callie asked.

"Why are you asking that?" Penelope asked surprised at how she just knew something was up.

"Bella is wearing long sleeves and pants, she looks like there was a tsunami on her face and Emily didn't even push it harder for her to eat. So what happened?" Callie said.

"She woke up and just broke down" Emily said.

"Oh no" Callie said.

"She kept saying she wanted to sleep and that she was so tired and she wanted John and she was so scared I was going to leave her too" Emily said.

She didn't really like talking about it but Callie was like a second mom to Bella. She was always there when the kid needed and she deserved to know.

"She just sobbed you know" Emily said.

Callie was feeling so bad for Bella. She knew that kid was tough and to learn that she sobbed broke her heart.

"Did she sleep after that?" Callie asked.

"Impressively she did" Emily said. "Almost all night. She just woke up once but was asleep again in 2 minutes"

"That's good" Callie said with a smile.

"She was just so tired." Penelope said.

"I just hope she has a better night tonight" JJ said.

"Yeah" Emily gave JJ a sweet smile with hopeful eyes.

"She'll be okay." Callie said.

They were interrupted by the buzzer. It was Derek Shepherd, Isabella's godfather. He went up and the women welcomed him in.

"Where's Bella?" That was the first thing Shepherd asked.

"She went to take a shower" Callie said.

"And how is she?" He asked giving Emily a hug.

"She broke down yesterday night" Emily said.

"Really?" He asked looking upset and gave Emily another hug.

"She'll be okay." He said smiling.

They went to sit down in the living room. Callie placed Sofia on the floor with a couple of toys.

"You brought her to cheer Bella up?" Shepherd asked.

"Yeah. But it's not going that great though" Callie said.

"So what exactly happened last night?" He asked and Emily told the entire story.

"At least you know she's talking a bit" he said. "Is she eating much?" He asked.

"No. Barely nothing" Emily said.

"Try to give her things she likes and I'm sure little by little she'll get there" he said when suddenly Bella showed up.

"Hi" he said going up to her and picking her up. She had black leggings on and was wearing one of her brothers Harvard's hoodie that was , of course, super lose on her.

Shepherd put her down and she went to sit next to Emily.

He sat on the couch and said "hey come here" with a big smile. Isabella went and sat on his lap. She was facing her mother and Shepherd rested his head on her shoulder.

"Well I came by to check on you and also to ask if you would like to go bowling with me tonight" he said. Bowling was their thing. They went just the two of them all the time.

"Tonight?" Bella asked not sounding very excited.

"Yeah. You and I" he said.

"I don't know" Bella said looking down at Sofia playing.

"I already looked up online a bowling place in DC for us. Do you wanna see?" Shepherd said.

"You did?" She asked surprised.

"Of course I did. We need one for when I go visit you. Just like when you were in New York" he said. When Isabella was younger she lived in NYC and Shepherd lived there too but when she was 5 he moved to Seattle and she only moved there a year later.

"It's close to your mom's apartment. We can walk there" he said sounding excited.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah" he said. "It will be fun. Do you wanna go with me tonight?" He asked but she didn't say anything. "Just for a little while." He said.

"He can bring you home whenever you want to" Emily said smiling at Bella. She knew Isabella needed to get out of the house and try to focus on other things too.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Yeah?" Shepherd asked surprised she actually said yes.

"Yeah" she said. He hugged her from behind.

"Alright so I pick you up at 7 okay?" He said.

"Okay" Bella agreed.

"Well I gotta go. Mer's on call and I have the kids" he said. Isabella got up and sat next to her mom.

"Bye." He told everyone. "I'll see you later" he said.

JJ walked him out.

While she did that Isabella got up and headed upstairs. She didn't say anything she just went. Emily could see Isabella was upset with something so she decided to give her some time. She went up and climbed on her bed and used all the strength she had not to cry. She covered herself up. She didn't feel like doing anything. She didn't want to go bowling. She didn't even know why she said yes. She just felt like she wanted to lay down all day and be with her mother.

Downstairs, after a while Callie asked "do you want me to talk to her?"

"No I'll go" Emily said getting up.

"Hey. Anything. We are here" JJ said and Emily smiled.

She went up and found Bella in bed buried beneath all the blankets that were on her bed. She lifted the blankets and crawled into the bed, lying on her side. She reached up and peeled the blankets down, revealing her daughter's eyes that looked up at her through a sheet of tears. Emily squirmed further down so she was eye leveled with Bella. She rested her palm on Isabella's pale cheek, using her thumb to brush away a tear. Wordlessly they looked at each other, and Emily, for the thousandth time, tried to imagine herself in Bella's position.

How would she feel? What would she do?

She put the conversation on hold and instead just pulled Bella into her arms, she wrapped her up in them and wished she still had the power to make everything in Bella's world okay like when she was little baby.

After about 20 minutes of just lying there Bella sat on the bed. She had stopped crying a long time ago.

"I'm gonna go play with Sofia okay?" She told Emily.

"Alright" Emily smiled sitting on the bed. Isabella started getting off the bed and Emily grabbed her hand.

"You're gonna be okay there" she said firmly with a smile. Isabella nodded and breathed in deep.

"If you want to come back just tell him" Emily said. Bella gave her a smiled and headed off. Emily got up and went after Bella.

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The rest of the morning went okay. Isabella played around with Sofia and even giggle a little bit when Sofia started making funny faces at her. Emily felt like she could hear that sound all day. Isabella was distracted by Sofia so the women kind of just relaxed and watched tv. Around 1 Penelope said "guys I'm hungry" she said with such a knocked out voice that made everyone laugh but Bella. She got nervous because she didn't feel like eating but she knew they would make her do it.

"I can make spaghetti if you guys want" Callie said. "Or we can order"

"Unm a home made spaghetti would go great right now" Penelope said. "You like spaghettini right Bella?" She asked.

"Sure" Bella said with a little smile.

Everyone could see she was uncomfortable but they just went with it scared that if they said something she wouldn't eat at all.

Callie got off the couch and headed to the kitchen. Everyone followed her besides Bella and Sofia who stayed playing together on the floor. After a while lunch was ready.

"We should set up the table" JJ said.

"Yeah maybe she'll eat with everyone together" Penelope said.

"Yeah that's a good idea and I don't think they ever used the table anyways" Callie said knowing they could maybe think sitting down for lunch at the table could bring up memories.

Emily and Penelope went on setting up the table.

When it was done Callie took the food there and JJ went to get Bella and Sofia.

Isabella was really nervous. She felt like she was about to throw up. She didn't feel like eating at all But she went and sat down next to her norther. Callie was next to her and JJ and Penelope on the other side. Emily picked Bella's plate up and poured some spaghetti in there. It was a decent amount but Isabella said "mom that's too much"

"There's barely anything in there munchkin" Callie said. She didn't mind being seen as the bad guy in Bella's eyes as long as she ate.

Isabella started rolling around her fork and was barely putting any food on her mouth. No one said anything. They talked about Callie's work on the hospital and how the BAU was, completely ignoring the fact that Bella was just playing around with her food.

When everyone was almost done Callie asked Bella "do you want some more?"

Isabella had more than half on the pasta still on her plate. She answered without taking her eyes of the plate "no I'm fine"

Callie grabbed Bella's fork. "Stop this" she said firmly but not harsh. Isabella didn't look at her.

"Why don't you wanna eat?" She asked. Isabella didn't answer. She felt like she was about to explode.

"Hey look at me" she said putting her hand on Bella's cheek. Isabella looked up.

"Why don't you wanna eat?" She asked again.

"I'm just not hungry" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"How about if you tried to eat anyways so you can get strong huh? You don't need to be hungry to eat something munchkin" Callie said softly. Everyone had finished eating and was just watching them.

"I don't want too" Bella said so embarrassed.

"How about some ice cream?" Callie said. She would try every kind of food if she had to. And at least ice cream had milk in it.

"I'm not hungry" Bella said and tried to stand up and leave but Callie stopped her.

"Let me go" she said as tears started to fall. Callie was holding her arm and she realized Callie wouldn't let go so she sat back down and shoved her head on her mother's lap. Emily just petted her hair and Callie let go of her arm.

Bella was laying her head on Emily's lap and she started sobbing. "I'm not hungry okay. I'm not" she cried.

Emily started to pull Bella up and pulled her into her arms. She just hugged her and said "honey I'm sorry but we are not gonna let you get sick okay? You need to eat" she was holding back her tears.

"I ate mom" Bella cried.

"barely anything baby" she said looking straight at Bella's eyes.

"I can't eat more I don't feel good" Bella said. And that was when they all thought she was having an anxiety attack.

"What exactly are you feeling?" JJ asked.

"Like I'm gonna throw up" Bella said.

Emily placed her hand on Bella's chest to feel her heart and it was beating really fast.

"Honey you are anxious. That's what's happening" Emily said. "You won't throw up."

Isabella didn't say anything she just cried.

"How about we wait till it gets better and you can try to eat a little bit more?" Callie asked.

"Hunm how about that?"

"Okay" Bella said. She could feel her face was red and she felt like she was going to throw up at any time now.

"Honey you're shaking" Emily said.

"I don't feel good" she said.

"It's gonna go away soon" JJ said.

"I can't breath... Mommy" Isabella cried.

Callie looked at her and saw her face. She realized Bella was having a panic attack. The anxiety attack meant she was probably on the verge of one and she didn't had one because she would get away with what was triggering it but this time they didn't let her get away so she ended up having one.

"She's having a panic attack" Callie said standing up to go get a paper bag. Emily sat Bella up on the chair beside her.

"Breath in through your nose and out through your mouth" she said calmly. Isabella did that as tears streamed down her face. She was shaking and sweating and her face was burning up and red. JJ went to get some water and Penelope ran up to Bella's bedroom to get her blanket, she thought that might help.

"You're gonna be okay. Shuuuu Shuu" Emily kept telling Bella and running her hand on her back.

Callie went over with the paper bag.

"Breath into this" she said holding the beg in front of Isabella's mouth and nose. Bella started breathing there and she could feel it heavy so she pushed it away because it didn't feel like helping.

"Hey no no no. it's gonna make it better honey" Callie said putting it back in place. It took a about 2 minutes for her breathing to get better. She was still crying and feeling sick but her heart wasn't beating that crazy anymore. When she felt a bit better she pushed the paper bag away and got up to sit on Emily's lap.

"Let's go to the couch baby" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said. She was so embarrassed.

"Come here" Emily said picking her up and heading to the living room.

She sat on the couch with Bella still crying on her arms. Penelope got there and handed the blanket to Bella.

"You don't ever need to hide it from us" she said.

Isabella laid her head on her mother's chest and snuggled the blanket while her mom was hugging her tight.

"It's okay. I'm right here" Emily said giving Bella a kiss on the cheek. Bella cried herself to sleep after 6 minutes.

"Well that went well" JJ said sarcastically.

"At least we found out what's really going on" Emily said.

"She must have felt this on the first time she ate after it all happened and now every time she has to eat it comes back" Callie said.

"Everything she needed now. Fucking panic attacks." Penelope said looking upset.

"Hey. You don't cuss. Ever" JJ said.

"I'm just upset. I'm sorry sugarplum" Penelope said.

"She'll be fine" Emily said. "We just need to deal with it"

"Yeah. She needs to see she won't throw up if she eats because I know that's what is scaring her" Callie said.

"Yeah" Emily agreed.

"What do you mean?" Penelope asked.

"Throwing up means she's sick and if she is that means hospital and believe me that's the last place she wants to go to" Callie said and Penelope nodded yes.

"We just need to explain that to her. And it won't be easy" Emily said.

"I think you should call it off the bowling tonight" JJ said. "I don't think she'll get out of the door"

"Yeah I agree" Emily said.

"I can call Derek if you like. So You just stay there with her" Callie said.

"Alright" Emily agreed.

Callie walked to the kitchen to get her phone.

Isabella woke up with the sound of JJ's phone ringing.

"Hey go back to sleep. It's just JJ's phone" Emily whispered and placed her hand on Bella's cheek and she closed her eyes again. JJ got up and answered. It was Hotch and he told her they had an urgent case in Jackson, Mississippi, and they had to leave. She and Penelope said goodbye to Callie and Sofia and went to say bye to Emily.

"You're going back on Sunday right?" Penelope asked.

"That's the plan. But if something shows up I'll let you guys know" Emily answered. JJ went down, petted Bella's hair and kissed on the forehead. "See you soon" she said.

Isabella opened her eyes.

"Hi" JJ said. "We are going back"

"Right now?" Bella asked whispering.

"Yeah. We have a case" JJ said.

"But we see you in a couple of day alright!?" Penelope said excited.

"Alright" Bella said sitting up to hug them. They said their goodbyes and left.

Callie went back from the kitchen.

"He said he'll stop by later tonight for a movie" she said.

"He who?" Bella asked still a bit sleepy.

"Derek. We called off bowling" Emily said.

"Really?" Bella asked sounding grateful.

"Yeah" Emily said. Bella gave her a little smile. She was feeling better.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" She asked her mom.

"Sure" Emily said excited. Callie picked Sofia up and sat on the couch with her on her arms.

"This one needs a nap" she said smiling.

They just watched the movie and Sofia slept through the the whole thing.

.

.

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 ****** Hi guys! Just to let you all know, i'll be posting 2 episodes everyday =)**

 **I'm loving to write this and i hope you guys are enjoying the story too.**

 **ps: I used to have another account here by the name of "cmeprentiss" and i had uploaded a couple chapters of this story there but Isabella was actually older. Anyways, i decided to it down because i wasn't really liking how it was turning out so i deleted. A couple days ago i was going through my files and found it and decided to make some changes and give it another try. So i hope you guys like it =)**


	11. Chapter 11: She Just Left

It was almost 5 when Emily was in the kitchen making fresh orange juice for their dinner when she heard the door opening. It was Jeremy and Marley.

"Hey" he said coming in.

Bella who was now sitting on the couch, watching 'The Little Mermaid' with Sofia, looked over at him.

"Hi" Said Emily as Jeremy walked to Bella and gave her a big hug.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Alright I guess" she said with a sweet smile.

"And how about you little girl?" he said to Sofia who just giggled as he tickled her.

He sat on the couch and Marley went to sit beside him.

"So do you want to spend the night in our house?" He asked Bella.

"What?" She asked.

"Well. We just thought that you could maybe use a bit of fresh air and we have a backyard with a pool and also Bear" he said. Bear was his and Marley's dog. He was a 4 year-old big Terra Nova.

"I don't know" Isabella said. She desperately wanted to say no but she didn't want to hurt Jeremy's feelings. She knew he worked a lot and he wouldn't be able to visit her all the time in DC. She wasn't really used to him around because he had already gone to university and when he went back to live close to their dad he started working a lot.

"We can have a movie night and pizza" Jeremy said offering her two favorite things.

"Oh. Uncle Derek is already coming over for a movie" Isabella said. "I'm sorry Jeremy."

"Alright. But tomorrow you need to stop by okay?" He said.

"Yeah! Even if it's just for a little while" Marley said.

"I won't take no for an answer" he said smiling at her.

"Okay" Isabella smiled to hide the fear boiling up inside of her. She felt like she didn't want to leave the house.

Jeremy stood up and said "well we need to go get groceries because we are basically out of food"

"We'll see you two tomorrow" he said to Emily and she nodded yes but with a face of 'let's see how this goes'

"You are also invited Callie" he said. "Bringing the little one to swim" he said.

"Sure" Callie smiled.

"Well we really have to go" he said and went to give Bella a hug. "I'll call you later"

"Okay" she said and went to give Marley a hug.

"See you tomorrow" Marley said heading to the door.

They left and Isabella went to the kitchen. She went close to Emily on the sink and just hugged her. Emily could feel Isabella shaking.

"Come sit down" she said putting one arm around Bella's shoulder and guided her to one of the stools.

"Look try not to think about tomorrow okay?" She said and gave the girl's hand a squeeze. "It helps if you concentrate on something else" she said looking at Bella right in the eyes. She saw Bella's look of 'what am I supposed to concentrate on' and she said "let's play some chess"

"You don't even really like chess mom" Bella said.

"Well I like playing with you so go get it" she said smiling big at Bella. She thought having a positive attitude around Bella might help.

"Okay" Bella said standing up. Emily kissed her cheek and she went off to get the game.

.

After a while she went back trying to hold the gigantic Harry Potter chess. Emily went and picked it up making the horse fall.

"Oh no" Bella said freezing on spot.

"Oh my god. Is it broken?" Emily asked scared as Bella went down to pick it up.

"Thank God it's not" Bella said with a relived face.

"Oh good" Emily breathed out. She didn't want any other reason for Bella to be upset that day and the kid just loved that chess.

Callie stayed in the couch watching a movie with Sofia while Emily and Bella played on dinning room table. Bella was curling one leg underneath her and resting her chin on her other knee.

"Daughters first," Emily said formally, gesturing with her palm raised. Bella let out a little laugh and moved a piece. Emily took a mental photograph of that smile and started to focus on the game.

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The phone rang halfway through the game.

"Hello?" Emily answered , her brow furrowed in thought.

"Well you don't sound very welcoming. Is everything okay?" came Derek Shepherd's voice.

"My child is murdering me at chess," Emily explained.

"Well obviously," Shepherd replied knowingly.

Emily grinned, shaking her head. "So... what is up?" She asked.

"I'm outside. I didn't want to buzz in because I thought Bella could maybe be asleep" Shepherd said.

"Wait up" she said and hang the phone up. She ran to the intercom and buzzed him in.

"Who is it?" Isabella asked.

"It's Derek" Emily said. She could see Bella tensed.

"Your Derek?" Bella asked.

"My Derek?" Emily laughed. "No. It's not Morgan. It's your uncle shepherd" she said and she could see Isabella's face changing. "Hey. It's gonna be alright" she told Bella and the door bell rang.

"Hi" shepherd said as Emily held the door open for him.

"So you are murdering your mother at chess again?" He asked letting out a laugh.

"It's just a game" Bella said smiling and embarrassed.

Callie walked to them carrying Sofia who was asleep in her arms.

"Well I gotta go" she said. "Arizona should be home soon"

"Okay" Bella said with a sweet smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow at Jeremy's. Right?" Callie asked.

"I guess so" Bella said.

They all could see she wasn't very excited about it.

"Not I guess so. It's a yes. Alright?" Callie said smiling at Bella.

"Sure" Bella said looking back at the game.

Callie walked over to her and gave her little kiss on the forehead.

"Have a good night munchkin" she said.

"You too" Bella smiled.

Shepherd sat next to Bella while Emily opened the door for Callie.

"Make her go okay? She needs to" Callie said.

"I will" Emily said. "Have great night"

"You too. Bye" Callie replied.

Emily knew it would probably be hard to get Bella out of the house the next day but she knew she wouldn't make her go. She wanted Bella to trust her and she wanted to give Bella the freedom to heal in her own time. She wouldn't force her to do anything that wasn't really necessary. Jeremy could go to his dad's, now Bella's, apartment any time and she would make Bella stay downstairs with her brother but she wouldn't put her child in an uncomfortable and probably scary situation if she didn't think it was really necessary like the eating problem. She knew that if Isabella kept not eating she would probably get sick, she seem d to be already losing weight, Emily could see the difference. She knew if she didn't eat she would have to act mean and force her to.

Emily walked back to the dining table to finish the game.

"You didn't cheat did you?" She asked looking suspicious.

"When did I ever do that mother?" Bella said smiling making Shepherd and Emily smile too.

Emily glared at the board. Finally, she spotted a move.

"Nice one" Bella half smiled.

They went on playing. Shepherd just stared at them for a while before saying "I love seeing you too like this"

"Me too" Bella said smiling embarrassed.

"Hey. I'm gonna miss you so much but I promise to go visit okay?" He said.

"Okay" Bella smiled. "You better"

Everyone laughed.

"So did you see Cameron today?" Derek asked.

"No. She probably texted me though" Bella said still staring at the board.

"Probably?" Emily asked.

"I didn't check my phone at all" Bella said. She got a phone when she moved to Seattle just for emergencies.

"Well you maybe should do that" shepherd said.

"I know" Isabella said. She didn't want to check it because she knew a bunch of people probably sent her messages and she didn't want to read any of it. At least not yet.

"You can invite her for the movie" Shepherd said.

"I guess" Bella replied with a raised brow, moving a piece. "Checkmate" she said.

"Son of a B-" Emily said and the phone began to ring. Isabella grinned as her mom held on the final word. Emily looked at her and couldn't help but smiled.

"Well done baby" she said. "as always"

Isabella blushed slightly, unfolding her legs so she could stand up.

Emily answered the phone.

"Hello?" A quiet voice spoke.

"Hi. Who is this?" Emily asked.

"It's Cameron"

"Oh hi honey" Emily said sounding warmer now. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah it's okay but is Bella home? I've tried to get ahold of her all day but she's not answering my calls or texts and I started to get scared. She's always with her phone. Is everything okay?" Cameron said really fast.

"Everything is fine Cam. I'm sorry she just didn't check her phone" Emily said feeling bad because she could hear the fear in Cameron's voice.

"Can I talk to her?" Cameron asked.

"Sure. Let me go get her for you" Emily said walking to the bathroom where Isabella went. She knocked on the door.

"Honey. It's Cameron on the phone"

Isabella opened the door and took the phone.

"Hi" she said walking to a stool at the island.

"You scared me to death you know." Cameron said sounding mad.

"I'm sorry cam"

"Do not ever do that okay!? And if you think that when you are in DC things will be like this you are very wrong" Cameron said serious.

"I don't think that. I'm sorry Cameron" Isabella answered serious too.

"I've tried to talk to you all day" she said.

"I'm sorry" Bella said. She started to feel really upset about it. Emily and Derek sat next to her on the island and started to pay attention.

"Promise me you'll always answer when I call or text. Even if it takes a while you'll do it" Cameron said.

"I promise" Isabella said.

"I left some things with my mom and she'll give it to you tomorrow alright?" Cameron said.

"What?" Bella asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I had to come back" Cameron said sounding upset.

"You what?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"It's some senior things that the class have to do and I forgot the date. My mom remembered me today by asking why I wasn't getting ready for the flight. I called you a million times, even called Jeremy but no one was answering. I was at aunt Kelly's house and my mom brought my bag. She just picked me up and left. I had to go" she said.

Isabella didn't say a word. Tears filled her eyes and she held them in.

"I'm really sorry" Cameron said and Emily held Bella's hand when she noticed the girl's debased face.

"What do we do now?" Isabella asked.

"I promise to go to DC as soon as possible okay? I promise you " Cameron said.

"Cam there's no breaks till after my birthday" Isabella said letting a couple of tear fall and trying not to sound like crying.

"I'll figure it out" Cameron said. "I promise okay?" She said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Well I have to go now" Cameron said as her plane got a last call at a layover.

"I love you" she said.

"I love you too" Bella said and hang up. She just sat there. Emily got up and hugged her.

"What exactly happened?" She asked.

"She left" Bella cried trying to hide her face on Emily.

"What do you mean she left?" Shepherd asked.

"She had to go back to school for senior stuff" Bella said. "She forgot it was today"

"Why didn't she came by?" Shepherd asked while Emily just hugged Bella and stroke her hair.

"She was at her aunt's house and she was late" Bella said and let out a sob.

"Oh honey" Emily said and picked Bella up. Shepherd got up and went to pick Bella himself but she wouldn't budge.

"Come sit with me on the couch" he said running his hand on her back.

"I wanna go to bed" Isabella said.

Emily and Derek stared at the kitchen clock. It was a little passed 8 and they knew there was no way she would sleep so early.

"Let's watch our movie" Shepherd tried again.

"I wanna go to bed. I wanna sleep" she said crying.

"Honey it's 8. It's early and you didn't even have dinner" Shepherd said.

Bella forced herself to stand up so she could walk away but Emily held her in a hug.

"Hey" Emily said. "You'll see her soon okay? I'll send her a ticket to DC. She can go spend the weekend alright. We'll figure it out" Emily said.

"It's gonna be alright" she said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said. "I wanna go to bed."

"Okay. Come on" Emily said placing one arm around Bella and heading for the stairs. She didn't want to force Bella to eat specially after this. They went to Bella's room while Derek shepherd put the chess away.

Emily tucked Bella in.

"Do you want me to stay here with you ?" Emily asked.

"No. It's okay" Bella said.

"Alright. I'm gonna eat something and then I'll come up okay?" Emily said petting Bella's hair.

"Okay" Bella nodded.

Emily gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight" she said.

"Goodnight" Bella replied and Emily walked to the door, turned the light off and the night light on and walked away. Isabella just laid there going through everything in her head.


	12. Chapter 12: I'm Not Hungry

Emily got downstairs to find Shepherd waiting for her with the phone book.

"Wanna order?" He asked. He had called Meredith and explained what happened. So he decided to stay over for the night.

"I'm using the Jeremy's bedroom tonight okay?" He said.

"Sure" Emily said. They had always been great friends and Bella loved her uncle. Emily was also glad she wouldn't spend the night alone with Bella, specially after the night they had have.

They ordered in and talked about Bella pretty much all the time. About the eating problem they came to the conclusion that in the morning she would have to eat breakfast, even if it got to the point of making her do it. It was better to play the bad guys now then the good ones when she was In a hospital bed.

They also decided not to force her into going to Jeremy's house. They wanted to work at one thing at a time and the eating was more important. Emily also said she would try to start packing a little with Bella the next day because it was almost Sunday and she was hoping to go to DC on that day. Shepherd said he wished he could help but he would be on call from 11am to 7pm. He had gotten the last couple of days off because of John's death but he was going back.

After all the talking it was almost 10. They said goodnight to each other and went to bed.

"Anything come get me" Shepherd said.

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Emily walked in Isabella's room to find her daughter still awake lost in her thoughts. Emily glanced at Bella's hands and saw her twisting her fingers. She had picked that habit up from Emily.

"Hey" she said approaching the bed. Isabella looked at her and her eyes were full.

"Mommy" she whispered and just cried.

Emily climbed on the bed and pulled Bella into her lap and let Bella cry. All she said was "everything is going to be fine".

.

After a little while Bella calmed down.

"Mom?" She called shyly.

"Yes baby" Emily said.

"Can you rock me like yesterday?" She asked trying not to look into Emily's eyes. "Just for a little while" the small girl added fast.

"of course I can" Emily said giving her a sweet smile. She got Bella's blanket which was left perfectly folded on the bed by Penelope, and handed over to Bella.

"Here" she said and Bella put it close to her face.

Emily started rocking her untill she fell asleep. She waited a while before placing Bella down. For her surprise Isabella didn't wake up.

She got up, got her pajamas and went to the bathroom to take a shower. She turned the shower on to heat up and before getting undressed she sat on the floor and started sobbing. It was all too much. She locked herself in the bathroom and just cried thinking how she just wanted John to come back and make Bella feel better. She just wanted to make the pain go away.

At the end of her breakdown, she actually had a dry little laugh about the fact that even though Bella was little she deals with her emotions the same way that she does — she does her best to hide them from other people. She wiped her face and took a shower.

She went back to bed to find Bella fast asleep.

She kissed Bella's cheek and laid down close to her and wished for a better night.

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It was 4:36 when Isabella woke up sweating.

She looked at her mom sleeping. She didn't want to wake her up so she just stayed there staring at the ceiling. She wasn't crying or anything like that.

After a while She got out of bed, taking her blanket, trying not to make a sound. She went downstairs and sat at the living room. She turned the tv on and turned the volume down but loud enough for her to hear it. She looked for something to watch but there was nothing good on so she got up and picked a dvd. 'Matilda' was her choice.

She just loved that movie.

She pressed play and laid on the couch hugging her blanket and made through half of the movie before falling asleep.

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Emily woke up the next morning and got scared when she saw Bella wasn't lying next to her. She jumped out of bed and headed to john's bedroom. Bella wasn't there. She walked downstairs and saw Shepherd sitting in the island just looking over at the couch and then back at her.

"Shuu" he said.

Emily went close to the couch and found Bella sleeping while the menu of 'Matilda' kept loading on repeat.

She smiled.

She and Bella always watched that movie together. When Bella was little she watched it and wore red ribbons on her hair for months.

"Do you want some coffee?" Shepherd whispered.

"Sure" she said quietly heading over to the island.

They were sitting there for almost an hour having breakfast when Isabella sat up.

"Good morning sunshine" Shepherd said.

"Hi" Bella said sounding sleepy. She laid down again and pressed play on the remote.

"How many times have you watched this?" Emily asked smiling.

"Too many" Shepherd said letting out a laugh.

Emily got up and went to sit on the couch with Bella. They snuggled and watched the movie as Bella was slowly getting more awake.

When the movie was done Shepherd threw Emily a look as if saying that Bella had to eat. He got up and sat next to Bella, leaving her in the middle of them.

"Honey we need to talk" he said giving her a tender look. She looked at him and she got scared of what he would say.

"Well, your mom and I talked and you need to eat something okay?" He said. "We cannot allow you to get sick"

Isabella didn't say anything she just looked down.

"I don't want to do this okay. I don't want to force you but if you don't eat we're gonna have too" he said.

Isabella had her eyes full. She turned to her mother and shoved her head on her chest as tears started to stream down her face.

"It's for your own good baby" Emily said striking her hair.

"I'm not hungry" Bella cried.

"Come here" Shepherd said trying to pull Bella to his lap but she would not let go of her mom.

"Try little by little. It doesn't matter how long it takes alright?" He said.

"No" Bella said already feeling hot and like she was going to throw up.

"Look. I'll fix you some cereal okay? And you can sit here to eat watching tv" he said walking up to the kitchen.

"Hey" Emily said. Isabella sat up.

"Just try"

"I can't mom" Bella cried.

"I know you can" Emily said giving her daughter a motherly understanding look.

Isabella could see her mom was hating to do that.

Bella hugged Emily and tried to wipe a few tears away.

"I know you can" Emily repeated.

Shepherd walked over there with a bowl of cereal. When Bella saw it her breathing got a bit strange. Emily placed her hand on Bella's back "just breath. It's alright"

"Just try" Shepherd said sitting down.

"No" Bella cried.

"Bella you'll be okay. You won't throw up. You're not sick at all alright? You have to eat so you don't get sick" Shepherd explained.

"I'm not hungry" she cried and tried to stand up but she failed because Emily held her.

"You are not leaving without eating" Emily said serious. Her heart was aching for the fact she was doing that.

Isabella looked over at Emily and Emily could see how disappointed the girl was.

"I'm sorry but I'm not letting you get sick" Emily said pulling Bella into her lap.

Shepherd could see that was breaking Emily.

"Look sweetie. If you don't eat I'm gonna have to give you some vitamins and supplements that you can easily have with just a bit of food. We don't wanna do that" Shepherd said.

"I'm not hungry why can't you people understand" Isabella said louder that she ever was.

"Bella I don't want to take you to the hospital and give you shots or even a feeding tube, okay?" Shepherd said and he could see Bella's face changing completely.

"You just need to eat baby. Just eat" he said.

"Please don't take me to the hospital" Bella said letting a sob almost unable to finish the sentence. Shepherd handed the cereal bowl to Emily and picked Bella up. He took her to the dining table as she cried on his arms. He placed her on a chair and Emily sat next to her and put the bowl in front of her.

"Just try" she said softly and tucked Bella's hair behind her ear.

Isabella didn't look at them as she reached over for the spoon. She started eating and the pressure on her chest started to build up. After a couple of spoons she stopped.

"I don't feel good" she said quietly still with tears streaming down her face.

"Come here" Emily said opening her arms and placing her hand on Bella's back. Isabella sat on her mother's lap.

"Just breath and go slow" Emily said.

"I can't do it" Bella said.

"You can baby. You already are honey." Emily said pulling the bowl to her and grabbing the spoon. She handed over to Bella.

"Just breath" she said.

Shepherd was sitting across them just looking quietly. Isabella picked the spoon and ate some more still crying.

It took about 35 minutes for the last spoon to go on her mouth.

"All done" she said sounding defeated.

"Good job" Emily said hugging Bella still on her lap with a red and wet face.

"Do you wanna watch a movie now?" Shepherd asked picking the bowl and heading to the sink.

Isabella nodded yes.

"Come on" said Emily.

They got up and Emily helped Bella wipe her tears and the. headed to the couch. Emily sat next to Bella and the girl laid her head on her mother's arm. Shepherd put on another movie and sat on the couch. No one said a word till the movie was over.

"Well I should go now" Shepherd said. "I have to work"

He got up and gave Bella a kiss.

"Bye" she said with a serious face.

"Hey. Don't be mad at me" he said.

"I'm not mad" she said.

"Don't be pissed" he said smiling.

"I'm not" she said. He hugged her and headed to the door accompanied by Emily. Once he was gone Emily went back to the living room and Isabella wasn't there. Emily headed to Bella's bedroom to find Bella with a suitcase desperately throwing her clothes inside without even folding it. She ran over to Bella and hugged her. "Hey" she said.

With her mother's touch Bella bursted into tears.

"I wanna go to your house" Bella said and Emily hugged her.

The truth is that she just wanted to scape.

"We're going soon honey" Emily said.

They sat on the bed and Emily pulled Bella to her lap.

"Mom?" Bella whispered. "I don't feel okay" she cried and Emily hugged her tight.

"I know you don't baby. But I promise it will go away"

"But when mom? When?" Bella cried.

Emily was heart broken to see her daughter in so much pain.

"I don't know baby" she said, her eyes full with tears.

Isabella squeezed her and after a while stopped crying.

She stood up and said "do you want to help me pack?"

Emily gave her a sweet smile "of course I do".

They spent the rest of the morning packing.

They did most of Bella's clothes and her books and dvds. She still had some other things on the shelves but they were tired so they decided to leave it for later.

"What do you want for lunch?" Emily asked. She sounded normal but inside she was terrified of what Bella would do. For her surprise Isabella said "how about Olive Garden?"

Emily gave her a sweet smile and nodded yes as they got to the stairs.

Isabella still didn't want to eat. She still felt sick but she didn't want to hurt her mother anymore and she also felt more scared of Derek Shepherd's plan B then the food. So she decided to try.


	13. Chapter 13: Hey Brother

The drive to 'Olive Garden' was quiet. When they got there they got a table for two and sat across each other. Isabella ordered mac and cheese and Emily decided to join. Bella let out a little laugh when Emily told the waitress she wanted the same.

"Hey it's not from the kids menu" Emily laughed.

They talked a bit about how they would ship Bella's things to DC because there was no way they could take all of it on the plane. Then the food arrived.

Emily noticed Isabella's worried face when she saw the size of the plate.

Emily gave her a tender look and said "hey. You don't have to eat all of it"

Bella asked "are you sure?"

Emily smiled and said "yes. Just make sure you put half of it in your belly."

"Okay" Bella said putting some on her mouth. Emily did the same.

"So it's good right?" She asked.

"Sure" Bella said trying to control the fact that she just felt like crying and she wanted to get up and run away.

Emily could see on Bella's face that she didn't want to eat but she chose not to mention it.

She started talking about her apartment and Bella got distracted. She got so distracted with the conversation that the feelings started to fade and she didn't even noticed she had eaten almost all the food on her plate.

When she stopped was because she was genuinely full.

"You did an awesome job there" Emily said smiling and giving Bella's hand a squeeze. Isabella smiled back with a proud but quite embarrassed look on her face.

"So now do you want desert?" Emily asked with a big smile.

"No mom I'm full" Bella said slightly smiling.

"Okay. So let me pay and we can go" Emily said.

She knew Isabella was full and wouldn't want desert. She just asked to show her daughter that she could take a no on that matter.

She payed the bill and they left.

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The drive back home was okay. They talked about some things they could do in DC and Emily told Bella that Hotch gave her a week off. Bella asked about school and Emily said that they would go take a look at some together. Bella wasn't excited at all about school but she knew she would have to go. At least anything would be better than boarding school.

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When they got home Bella went up to her bedroom and found Jeremy there sitting on her bed staring at the almost empty shelves.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I just came to see if you guys were going over to my place. Callie's already there" he said smiling. "I didn't knew you started packing" he said a little disappointed.

"We started this morning" Bella said as Emily stepped inside the room.

"Hi" she said walking over and hugging Jeremy.

"Well I came to drag you two to my house" he said smiling.

"Let me just change" Bella said walking to the bathroom and grabbing shorts on the way.

Jeremy looked surprised at Emily.

Once Bella got inside the bathroom he said "so what's happening there?"

Emily told him all that happened since the day before and he said

"that's a big step she's taking. Maybe too fast even so be there in case you know... She falls a couple back"

"Don't worry. After forcing her breakfast this morning I think I can do it" Emily said letting out a laugh. She still couldn't believe she did that. She was an fbi agent, yes, but the thought of being to hard on her daughter always scared her and now she would have to deal with Bella on her own. Isabella had always been a sweet, smart and loving child but she knew how kids could be.

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Inside the bathroom Bella changed into shorts and started french braiding her hair just like Cameron had taught her.

"Stupid hair" she said looking at the end result and hating it.

She had a beautiful long hair. It was dark just like her mother's but Emily's hair wasn't so long as hers. Emily's was a couple inches down the shoulder. Her father always loved her long hair and when she was little he used to do her hair all the time, and he actually was good at it.

It wasn't long till Bella got out of the bathroom wearing shorts and with a ponytail on her head.

"Let's go" she said making everyone smile. And they headed off.

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At Jeremy's house Isabella stayed in the backyard playing with Sofia and Bear almost the entire time while the grownups talked in the living room. Emily told them what happened to Cameron and how lunch was and she admitted she was a bit scared of Bella trying to block everything. They were finally being able to get some of her feelings out but Emily knew Bella. Probably even more than Bella knew herself, because her daughter always deals with her emotions like Emily does. So she was pretty sure Bella was going to try to act like everything was fine.

She saw Isabella didn't even mention Cameron the entire day and there at Jeremy's house she was trying to distance herself from the grownups.

"I think we should give her some time to process everything in her head you know." Marley said.

"She never really talks to anyone about her feelings but you and right now she probably doesn't know exactly how to" Callie said. "I mean how is she supposed to bring it up"

"Yeah. Maybe you should try to start talking about it. Maybe ask about Cameron " Jeremy said.

"Yeah I'll try later tonight" Emily said. She agreed with them. She knew she would have to be the one to start the conversation.

"If you want I can go over and we can try to talk to her about dad. Maybe me being there will help." Jeremy said.

"Jeremy. Are you forgetting the fact that we all lied to her for 3 years?" Marley said. "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't trust any of you for a long time after something like that" She said and Emily nodded.

She knew she also was going to have to deal with that And that was likely the reason why Bella was scared of her mother leaving her. Emily figured she was finding hard to trust.

"You should maybe get her a shrink in dc. Maybe talking to someone else will help." Marley said.

"A shrink? Marley, Bella hates shrinks. That won't work" Callie said.

"I don't know. Maybe a nanny?" Jeremy said. Emily let out a laugh.

"Are you sure we are talking about the same Bella here? You want me to get her a nanny? She'll go nuts if I do that." Emily said smiling. She certainly knew Bella would hate that.

"Maybe one of your friends can talk to her." Jeremy said.

"Yeah! Didn't you say she talked to Penelope about it?" Callie said.

"She actually did" Emily said now thinking it could actually be a good idea.

"She's gonna stay with Penelope anyways right?" Jeremy said. "When you go on cases."

"Yeah" Emily agreed.

"That might help. She'll have someone who didn't knew about it. You know?" Jeremy said.

"Yeah. I'm sure Penelope will try to talk to her anyways" Emily said smiling. She knew her friend would try to help even if she wasn't asked to, and she was glad Her daughter seemed to like Penelope.

Emily was interrupted by Sofia running in and Bella after her. Sofia climbed on Callie and Bella stopped running. She looked out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Callie asked worried thinking that Bella was having a panic attack.

"I'm fine. She wanted me to try to catch her and she ran off and bear ran after her so I ran to try to get him." Bella said as bear appeared behind her. She held his collar. "He's pretty fast" she said. "Can I have some water?" She asked.

"Sure. There's water in the fridge. And how many times do I have to say you don't have to ask?" Marley said standing up. "Come on"

Bella followed her to the kitchen and drank some water. She went back and sat next to her mom on the couch for a while and then Jeremy said "can I talk to you really quick?"

He got up and grabbed her hand as telling her to follow him. They went to his bedroom upstairs and sat on his bed.

"Bella you need to promise you'll call and text me" he said smiling.

"I will" she said with a smile.

"I'm gonna miss you" he said and hugged her.

"Me too" she said fighting the tears in her eyes.

Jeremy let go and got a little blue box and handed over to her. She opened and there was a necklace with a heart. Engraved in the heart was an 'E ' an 'I' and two 'J's. She smiled when she read it and let out a tear.

"It's so you never forget our family. It's a sort of crazy one but full of love and will always be no matter where the members go" he said.

Isabella smiled at him and said "thank you". They hugged again for a long time.

"I think I'm gonna go back now" Bella said. "I'm tired"

"Alright" he said. "Did you have fun with bear?" He asked and she nodded yes.

"I'll see you tomorrow then" Jeremy said and Bella hugged him "yeah." She said. They got up and Jeremy put the necklace on her. They went downstairs and Bella went to talk to Emily.

"Can we go home now?" Bella asked. Emily could see she had cried.

"Sure. Is everything alright?" She asked wrapping one arm around Bella.

"Yeah." Bella smiled at her. Emily noticed the new necklace and smiled at Jeremy. they said their goodbyes and left.

.

In the car Emily asked if the necklace was a gift from Jeremy and Bella even told her about the engravings.

"Is this going to be like the bracelet I gave you?" Emily asked smiling.

"I don't know" Bella said letting out a laugh and looked at her wrist. She had a bracelet on her left arm and she hadn't taken it off since she got it when she was 5, she would just adjust to her growing wrist. Emily was glad she bought one that was adjustable. The bracelet had a bunch of moons, stars and heart charms in it and when Emily gave it to Bella to show how much she loved her. She said that the moon meant that no matter where Bella went she would always have her mother even if she couldn't see her, just like when it's day time and the mom was there but you can't see. The stars were that Bella was Emily's little star and the most beautiful light in the world. The heart meant Emily would always love her no matter what. Isabella loved that and she never took it off.

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Later that day Emily left Bella watching a tv show and went upstairs to pack. After a while she was packing some more of Bella's things when Bella appeared in the bedroom with tears rolling down her face, scissors in one hand and some hair in the other.

"Bella. What did you do?" Emily asked frowning and froze.

"I'm sick of this stupid hair" Bella cried.


	14. Chapter 14: What Did You Do?

..."Bella. What did you do?" Emily asked frowning and froze.

"I'm sick of this stupid hair" Bella cried.

"Honey. You could have asked and I would have taken you somewhere" Emily said standing up and walking to hug Bella. Isabella dropped everything she was holding and broke down.

"Honey" Emily said picking Bella up and sitting on the bed. She rocked a little as Bella cried.

Once she calmed down Emily said.

"Let me see"

And Bella stood up. All Emily could see was a mess. Bella only cut one side but it was all uneven about shoulder length.

"I didn't do it right" Bella said her voice thick.

"We can fix it. Calm down" Emily said squeezing Bella's hands.

She picked up the seizors and thought about trying to fix it but she never really cut hair before and she didn't want to make it any worse. She looked at Bella and said "I think we should go see a professional" she smiled. She knew Bella probably cut it because of how her dad was always talking about her long hair and how much he liked it. She grabbed Bella's hand and walked out the door.

"Mom I can't go out like this" Isabella said looking worried.

"You look fine honey" Emily said with a sweet smile.

"I look ridiculous" Bella said serious but unable to control a laugh in the end. Emily smiled and took the hair elastic she had in her hair and made a bun on Bella's. It looked better even though some strings were short and were falling out.

"There you go. Now it's better" Emily said.

"I'm so stupid" Bella said.

"You're not stupid." Emily stared at Bella and turned to open the door. "I'm sure you'll look cute with short hair" she said.

"I hope so" Bella said and Emily smiled.

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The car ride was quiet. The only hair salon Emily knew was at the mall so she went there.

"I'm sorry mom" Isabella said with tears in her eyes.

Emily realized it had hit her what she had done. Isabella didn't think it through, she went to the bathroom and when she stared at herself in the mirror the memories of her dad doing her hair while she stood on that same place came flushing in like crazy. She reached down to the cabinet under the sink, got the seizors and started cutting.

She act in the moment and she regretted.

"It's okay. It's gonna be fine. It's just hair, okay? It grows back" she said given Bella a hug. "And you're a Prentiss baby. Our hair grows like crazy." Emily asked smiling at her daughter.

"Come on. Let's go." She said tacking off her seatbelt.

They walked to the mall and Bella didn't want to let go of Emily's hand.

At the hair salon, they had to wait for 13 minutes since they hadn't scheduled. The hairstylist was completely understandable when Emily told her that Bella cut it herself.

"You would be surprised at how many children come here with this problem." The lady said.

"You don't worry. We'll fix it and you're gonna look good" She said giving Bella's arms a squeeze. "Just swear to me you'll never do this again." She smiled.

"I won't" Bella smiled back.

After getting it washed, cut, dried and styled, Bella sat up in front of the mirror. She actually liked it.

"It feels so weird" she said.

"Feels lighter right?" The hairstylist said.

"Yeah. It's weird."

"Do you like it?" Said the hairstylist and Bella embarrassedly nodded yes.

"You look so cute" Emily said with a huge smile on her face.

Isabella's hair was about her shoulders and longer on the front. She in fact looked adorable.

She smiled at her mom and got up.

Emily paid and the hairstylist made Bella promise again not to cut it herself.

"Wanna walk around for while?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella said and Emily threw her arm around Bella.

"It looks great honey" Emily said.

"Do you think he would like it?" Bella asked with glossy eyes as she stopped walking and looked a bit upset.

"He would love it" Emily said giving Bella a hug.

Isabella smiled at her, held Emily's hand and started walking again.

"Let's check that store" said Emily pointing at the Disney store. Bella always loved Disney and she could use a little cheer up.

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They ended up staying at the mall till almost 7 pm.

Emily bought a few things for her and all Bella wanted was the 6 new 'tsums tsums' they had at the Disney store, which Emily happily bought it.

On their way home Emily asked if Bella wanted some 'chick-fil-a' for dinner, and she said yes. They stopped at the drive-thru and then headed home.

At home Bella laid all the bags on the couch and headed to the kitchen island.

"Do I have to eat all of this?" She asked when she saw the size of the sandwich and the big box of french fries.

"Is more than half a good deal?" Emily asked smiling and then taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Sure" Isabella said smiling.

They ate it and talked about the food and Bella asked if Emily cooked every day in dc.

Emily laughed and said "of course I don't" and Bella laughed. Emily could hear that all day.

They talked some more and then Bella said "mom I think I'm full"

She had eaten all of her sandwich but only two french fries.

"How about 2 more?" Emily said. She knew Bella was probably really full because even she was and she wasn't done yet. The French fries weren't regular shape and they were big.

"Alright." Bella said grabbing two out of the box.

After eating They threw the bags and leftovers in the trash and headed to the living room.

After a bit of tv Emily said she would take a shower and left Bella watching tv.

She went upstairs and called Garcia. She asked how everything was going and told what Bella did to her hair. Penelope was very surprised and at the same time super excited about how cute Bella must look with short hair. Emily promise to send her a picture and she also asked Penelope a big favor. She told her about her apartment and how she had a two bedroom one. She said she always lived in two bedroom apartments or houses so Bella would always have a bedroom there. She also admitted that since Bella never went to any of her places she never painted or decorated one of the bedrooms for her daughter. She always just put the essentials but that was it. So she asked if Penelope could work some magic in the room for her just to kind of make it feel homey for Bella and Of course Penelope was beyond excited. She already had come up with so many cool plans. Emily told her she had a short time but she didn't want any remodeling she wanted something cool but basic. They talked about a couple of things Penelope could do,like painting and decorations, and then Emily said it was a secret and she told Bella she was going to take a shower so she should probably go do that. So they hang up.

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Emily went downstairs after the shower, drank some water and poured some for Bella.

"Hey. Can you drink this for me?" Emily said softly.

"Water?" Bella asked sitting up on the couch.

"Yeah. Just water." Emily smiled and Bella took the glass. The little girl couldn't help but look a bit upset. She drank a bit of it and handed the glass to Emily who didn't took and gave her a stare.

"Drink everything honey" Emily said.

"I'm not thirsty" Bella said with a look of asking 'what are you doing'

"Drink" Emily said more serious.

"Seriously?" Bella asked but Emily didn't say anything.

Isabella drank up fast, handed the glass to Emily and got up.

"I'm gonna take a bath" she said looking a bit upset and walking to the stairs.

Emily just let her go and went to put the glass away.

Isabella had a long bath and put her pajamas on, long sleeves and pants again. She stared at herself in the mirror and had to admit she didn't look bad, as she thought she looked earlier.

Even though her long hair was gone, the memories came back to her anyways. Her eyes filled with tears and when she turned to go back to her bedroom Emily was standing there staring at her. She ran to her mom and Emily picked her up and sat on the bed. She could hold her baby all day if Bella let her.

Isabella hugged her without making a sound as tears streamed down her face. Emily waited a while before talking.

"You're thinking aBout him doing your hair aren't you?" Emily asked. She knew her daughter to well to know that was exactly what she was thinking.

Isabella let out a "yes' between sobs. Emily just hugged her tighter.

"Bella. You shouldn't see that as something sad baby. You had an amazing dad and he loved doing your hair. You brought him so much happiness and I know you two had some great times when he did your hair. You always made sure to tell me every knew thing he did with it. And you shouldn't see all of this with sadness." Emily said running her hand on Bella's back.

"It's some of the happy memories that you need to hold on too and not shut away"

"But it just hurts mom. It doesn't feel happy. Not at all mommy" Bella cried.

"One day it will. I promise you" she said. Isabella cried for a while longer. Suddenly Emily noticed her breathing was even and no noise anymore so she knew she stopped crying.

"Do you want to try to sleep right now?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. She was so tired. She laid down on the bed and Emily tucked her in.

"I need to check on the team in dc but I'll be back quick. Okay?" Emily said and Bella nodded yes getting her blanket. Emily handed over her stuffed dog Tramp (it was tramp from "Lady and the tramp")

"Hug him. He misses you" Emily said with a sweet smile as she covered the dog and Bella up.

"Mom stop. I'm not 5 anymore" Isabella said and Emily smiled big.

"You'll always be little to me and you might take care of that dog huh" Emily said letting out a laugh. Bella laughed too. Emily smiled and kissed Bella's forehead And then headed to the kitchen. The truth was that she wasn't going to call to check on the team, she was going to call Derek Shepherd and Jeremy to let them know all the hair situation before they saw Bella. After telling them everything, she went back to the bedroom and for her surprise she saw Isabella sleeping by herself.

She didn't want to leave the girl alone so she laid on the bed with her And for the first time since her father died she slept the entire night peacefully.

No nightmares, no sweating, nothing.


	15. Chapter 15: I Just Can't

The next morning Emily woke up with the buzzer.

"Hey it's okay, go back to sleep" she said as Bella opened her eyes.

"Close your eyes, it's just the buzzer. I'll be right back" Emily said and Bella went back to sleep.

She headed downstairs and it was Derek shepherd and Callie. She let them in and they sat to drink some coffee.

Shepherd had called Callie after Emily called him and told her what happened So they wanted to go check on Bella And they were surprised to find her still asleep, it was almost 9, and even more to find out she slept all night.

After a while sleepy face Bella appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Good morning sunshine" Emily said smiling.

"Oh my god! You look so cute! I loved it" Callie said running up to Bella and hugging her.

"You are certainly cutter" Shepherd said smiling.

"Thanks" Isabella shyly replied waking over to her mom.

Emily hugged her.

"Good morning" she said and Bella gave her a sweet smiled and murmured "morning". She was still sleepy.

"I got you donuts" Shepherd said handing a dunkin donuts box to Bella. She picked one and took a bite out of it.

"Thanks" she said with her mouth full making everyone laugh.

She sat on a stool at the island and Emily poured her some orange juice. Bella wasn't hungry but just ate the donut because she was scared they would make her eat a bowl really full of cereal again. She drank the entire juice and finished her donut. Shepherd handed the box to her again.

"I'm full" she said trying to ignore everyone looking at her.

"Hey. Just one more" Shepherd said smiling.

"I accept more juice actually" she said serious and a little pissed, handing her glass to Emily, who filled it in.

"No donuts?" Shepherd asked.

"No thank you." She gave him a fake smile and headed to the stairs but Before she could make it Emily called her out.

"Hey!" She called and Bella looked at her.

"Drink it here" Emily said and shepherd looked impressed at her.

"What?" Bella asked confused.

"Finish it up here. Then go up" Emily explained with a serious face. She didn't want to be mean but she knew what the kid was going to do.

"I don't want it then" Isabella said not really believing Emily was doing that.

"You won't go up if you don't drink. You're not getting sick remember?" Emily said.

"Fine. I stay here then" Isabella said and headed to the couch.

Emily followed her and sat next to her.

"Bella what's going on? Why the attitude?" She asked.

"I'm sick of all of you trying to force things into me" she said not looking at her mother.

"We already explained to you. Didn't we?" Emily said.

"And I ate a bunch of things yesterday mom. Why can't I just eat whatever? Dad never cared. Dad didn't mind me skipping meals or eating little. It's not gonna make me sick" Isabella said and let the glass fall on the floor making a huge noise. Luckily it didn't shattered into a thousand little pieces, it just broke into 3 big pieces.

"Bella" Emily said with disapproval. Isabella didn't even look at her. She put her feet up and and buried her face on the couch placing a pillow over her head.

"Hey sit up. Emily said as she tried to take the pillow off.

"Leave me alone" Isabella yelled.

Emily never heard those word coming out of Bella like that. She sounded so angry.

"Em" Shepherd said as if telling her to give Bella some time.

Emily stood up and walked over to him.

"I'll clean it up" Callie said half way there.

Isabella stayed there for about 10 minutes. Just laying there covering her face hoping all her thoughts could just go away. She didn't want to scream at her mom. She was tired. She was scared. She just wanted to be like before. And that included her dealing with food the way she wanted. No one cared. She always ate whatever she wanted. There was no one controlling it and she was always okay. But now it seemed like there was a food patrol counting every vitamin she put on her body.

While she laid there, Emily, Shepherd and Callie talked very low in the kitchen about what happened.

Emily was feeling bad and she knew she was to hard on Bella but she felt like if she let go she would throw the juice away and go back to not eating.

They had taken a big step the day before but she knew Bella and she knew that she was not going to eat if they didn't push her a little bit. She did the right thing but she knew shouldn't have been that hard on the kid.

The "10" minutes passed and Isabella sat up.

"Mom?" She said shyly. "Can you come here?"

Emily looked over when she heard Bella calling her and was already on her way when Bella asked her to go.

"I'm sorry" Bella whispered holding her tears. "You are right mom. I won't eat. I won't because I just can't. I can't" Bella said and tears streamed down her face. Emily sat next to her and Bella basically jumped to her arms crying.

"I'm so tired and my stomach hurts and I want my dad" Bella sobbed. Emily squeezed her tight and Shepherd and Callie headed over to the couch.

"I just want dad" she said it and the sobbing got worse. She couldn't stop. She was breaking down again. Emily held her tight and started rocking her.

"Shuu shuuu " Emily said.

Shepherd placed his hand on Emily's knee in a way of telling her he and Callie were there and she was not alone.

"He's gone. Oh my god. He's gone" Isabella cried out fighting the words she was saying.

Everyone in that room was broken hearted.

Emily didn't even tried to fight her own tears, like Shepherd and Callie were doing. She just rocked her baby and cried with her wishing she had a way of making it all better.

Callie couldn't take it anymore as Bella kept sobbing desperately. She began to cry too and sat next to Emily and held Isabella's hand.

After a lot of crying from everyone Isabella said "mom?" More calmly.

"Yes baby?" Emily asked softly.

"You won't leave me will you?" Bella said sounding so scared.

Emily could feel her baby's heart pounding.

"I'm not ever leaving you baby" she said hugging Bella tight.

"Mom if you do I can't..." She said unable to finished because she was crying to much. "You can't do that to me okay?" She finally said it.

"I promise I won't leave you honey" Emily said softly striking Isabella's hair. Bella hugged her mom tight.

"Bella no one is going to die." Shepherd said serious. He thought she needed to hear it like that.

Isabella looked over at him. The look on her face made Shepherd feel even worse about it all. She looked truly broken. He had never seen her like that. Ever.

"Your mom and you have a lot of people looking after you both. There's no reason to be scared" Callie said.

"Honey I know my job might scare you but you know my team is tough and you saw how they have my back. Remember everyone told you that?" Emily said. Now Isabella was calming down. She wasn't sobbing anymore.

"I'm scared. I'm really scared" Isabella admitted.

"I know you are and it's okay to be" Emily said.

"You are a really tough kid you know?" Callie said.

"We know that you will get through this" Shepherd said. "It was a shock and you are hurt but we promise that what you're feeling right now will soon be gone" he said giving her a sweet smile but she wasn't looking at him.

"Honey. I know you're scared that your life will always be like this but I promise you it won't. Things will started getting better little by little and you just have to hang in there. You are the strongest kid I know. Do you now that? You are strong ,you're smart and you'll have all your friends and this amazing mother right beside you no matter what" he said and Bella looked in Emily's eyes. Emily still with tears in her face.

"It will hurt that he's not here with us anymore but I swear to you that with time it will get better" he said.

He had lost his dad when he was young too and he knew what it hurt him but he also got thru it.

"Bella. You know how I miss my dad and I think we'll always miss our dads here but you also know how life can be good. I know you know because you've seen it. Your dad's life was brightened by you and you will hold on to happy moments with him forever. I know it hurts to remember now but with time you'll love to know that he loved spending every single minute with you. And you'll know in your heart that he'll Always be there." Shepherd said letting out a few tears.

"It will get better" he said. Isabella got out of Emily's lap and hugged Him. He wrapped his arms around the small girl and they both cried.

It took a while but Bella cried herself to sleep.

Shepherd placed her on the longer couch and headed to sit at the kitchen island with Emily and Callie to talk.

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They talked about How Emily thought that Bella finally let out what she was hiding. Shepherd brought up the fact that Bella was scared of Emily's work and Emily told him not to worry because she would show everything to Bella and she had thought about stop going on the field if Bella didn't adjust in any way with time. She also said she had decided to get a nanny to keep Bella company when she had to travel because of cases. They also talked about easing the eating part with making Bella eat at least half of a meal every time, they agreed that with time her appetite would go back to normal. They talked about a bunch of other things for about an hour and a half when suddenly the buzzer went on.

Isabella jumped up sitting on the couch.

"It's just the buzzer munchkin" Callie said heading over to the couch.

Emily answered and it was Arizona, Callie's wife, and Marley.

"Do you want to go to your room?" Callie whispered to Bella and Bella nodded yes. Callie walked with her upstairs and tucked her in. Isabella grabbed her blanket and went back to sleep.

When Callie got Downstairs she found everyone already talking about what had happened.

"Are you sure she's ready to go to DC tomorrow?" Marley asked.

"I think it will be good for her" Emily said. "I will have the week off so I already planned on going to some museums and places like that... that I know she likes so she can get some distraction" Emily said.

They talked about other things involving Bella such as school and Emily's work. Emily told Marley about the nanny and she said she wanted one but she was still going to talk to Bella first.

After a lot of talking, Callie went up with Arizona to say goodbye to Bella.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Callie whispered on Bella's ear as the kid was still a bit asleep.

"Okay" Bella said.

They went home and Shepherd a while longer after them. He gave Emily all his numbers, even his pager and the hospital's, And told her to call in case anything important happened. He promised to get on the first plane to DC. She was glad John and her picked an amazing godfather to her baby. She knew Isabella could always count on him. Shepherd also gave her some pills for her to give to Bella in case the sobbing and crying became constant. It was an antidepressant that would help With all of the thoughts on Bella's mind. Emily didn't want to give them to Bella but she took it just in case. She knew her daughter was a tough kid and she knew Bella would always try to hide her feelings but now she also knew that her kid was broken down.

After a while Shepherd left, leaving Emily by herself with Bella sleeping upstairs. She decided to try to get some sleep too. She went up and found Bella fast asleep hugging her blanket and tramp. She laid down next to her baby and just stared at her and payed attention to Bella's breathing till she fell asleep.

Emily woke up some hours later and froze on spot as she realized Bella was not Lying next to her.


	16. Chapter 16: Let's Go

She jumped out of bed and headed downstairs hoping to find Bella watching a movie again but this time she found Bella sitting at the kitchen island drinking some juice.

"Honey. What are you doing down here by yourself?" Emily asked stopping to stare at her daughter.

"I'm finishing the juice as you told me" Bella said. She sounded hurt and maybe scared.

Emily walked over to her and hugged her.

"I'm sorry honey" Emily said. She felt so bad. Isabella nodded yes and finished her drink as Emily sat down next to Bella.

"Jeremy called. He's coming over for lunch and he'll bring a Lasagna that Marley made" Isabella said not sounding excited.

"You don't want him to come?" Emily asked and Isabella just raised her shoulders.

Emily went and hugged her.

"It's gonna be alright" she said smiling. They headed to the couch and Emily watched tv while Bella read 'The 100'.

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Later around 1 Jeremy showed up with Marley. Of course she had told him everything. He hugged Bella and said "I'm so sorry" holding his tears.

"It's okay" Bella said giving him a sweet smile as she let go of his arms and went to get plates. She helped Marley set the table and they sat to eat. She sat beside her mom just in case something went wrong. Emily poured just a little bit of lasagna for Bella because she knew that after all that happened she wouldn't be very hungry and she did not want Bella to have any more bad that day.

"Is this okay?" Emily asked showing Isabella the plate.

"Yeah" Bella said.

Lunch was okay. They talked a bit about some stuff they had seen on TV and tried to not even mention anything that happened earlier.

Isabella ate everything Emily put on her plate without saying a word. It took her a while longer then normally would but she was okay. After eating Jeremy talked to Bella about what where their plans for that apartment and Isabella said they should not sell it, and he couldn't agree more. After some more talking they just watched a movie and then Jeremy said he was going to go home. Jeremy and Marley said goodbye and promised to stop by the next morning.

Once again Emily was left alone in the apartment with Bella.

"Do you wanna go watch a movie upstairs?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily said walking towards the stairs and Bella followed her. They laid on Bella bed and watched 'Mr. And Mrs Smith'. After it was done Emily grabbed one of Bella's book to read while Bella read 'The 100' and they just staid there reading, silently, for hours.

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It was past 8 when Emily went to take a shower leaving Bella reading by herself in bed. She went back after a while and Isabella went in the shower.

Emily went downstairs and Derek Shepherd called.

"Hey. Um I just left the hospital right now and I forgot my keys in the counter I think" he said.

Emily looked around.

"Found it" she said spotting the keys.

"I'm gonna stop by" he said.

After a while he got there and sat down to drink some coffee. He noticed Emily looked a bit nervous so he offered to stay the night. At first Emily said it was okay and he didn't need to but he insisted. They both went to Bella's room to let her now he was there.

After a while Bella got out of the bathroom. She once again wore long sleeves and pants to bed. She gave Shepherd a hug and he told her anything she could go get him. Bella climbing in the bed and Emily went downstairs for a glass of water. After a bit she went back to Bella's bedroom. They both laid together and tried to sleep while '101 Dalmatians' was playing. Emily could see Bella was lost in her thoughts so she put her hand on Bella cheek.

"You okay?" She softly asked.

"Mom can you hug me tight till I'm sleeping?" Isabella shyly asked looking a lot younger than she she was.

"Of course I can. Come here" Emily said and went and hugged her.

She was still scared about her mom leaving.

There was a moment of quiet before Isabella asked "mom? Have you ever felt so sad you didn't want to do anything?"

Emily's eyes filled with water.

"Have you?" Bella said.

"Yes" Emily answered.

"You have?" Isabella asked in disbelief also holding her tears.

"I did. The moment your dad took you home for the first time. I stayed in the hotel for hours just crying wishing I could hold you like this forever" Emily said and they both cried still hugging each other.

"I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too Bella" Emily said hugging Bella tight.

They just stayed hugging while the movie played.

It wasn't long till both were fast asleep.

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It was around 3 am when Isabella started moving a lot on the bed and she kept saying no no no.

Emily woke up and grabbed Bella's hand.

"Honey it's alright" she said.

Isabella called for her dad and said no and even Emily a couple of times.

Her breathing was fast and she was sweating.

"Shuuuu shuuuu it's okay." Emily whispered while petting her hair.

" everything is okay."

It wasn't working. Emily's eyes were full. She knew Bella was having horrible nightmares.

She was fighting her tears when suddenly Isabella screamed.

"NO!" Bella screamed sitting on the bed. She looked around the room and when her eyes met Emily's she just shoved her head on Emily's arms. She was sobbing.

"It's okay. I'm right here. Shuuuuu shuuuu" Emily said.

Suddenly shepherd appeared at the door. He turned the light on and when he saw Bella sobbing he sat on the bed.

"Oh Bella. What happened?" He said. Bella just cried and cried.

"Honey calm down. Calm down" Emily said. "We are right here."

When she said that Bella cried even more.

"Bella look at me. Tell me what's wrong" Shepherd said.

"Nooo" Bella said.

"You can tell us anything sweetie" Shepherd said.

"Nooo no" she said still hiding her face on Emily's arms.

"Bella you won't make it real if you say it." Emily said.

"I don't want to."

"Bella you have to tell us in order for us to try to help" Shepherd said.

"Noo" Bella said. Emily sat on the bed she took Bella with her. Isabella just wouldn't let go.

"Bella was this about your dad?" Shepherd asked but with no response.

"Was this about me?" Emily asked and Isabella cried even more.

"Honey you have to tell us what's wrong." Shepherd said. "You have to. Please Bella. Just tell us."

"She dies" Bella said and cried even more.

"She dies? Who dies? Emily?" Shepherd asked.

"Yeah." Bella cried. "It's every time. It's never dad it's her But it's always different." Bella said hugging Emily even more.

"Bella. I'm right here. Right here. See" Emily said. Now she was the one crying. She couldn't believe Bella was having nightmares about that. She couldn't take the fact her baby was so scared.

"She's right here Bella. She's not dead or dying. She's here. She's not going anywhere" Shepherd said while Bella was still sobbing.

"I'm just scared." Bella cried.

"You are scared of what B?" He asked.

"Scared that she's going to" Bella cried. "I don't want to lose her too. I can't. I just can't."

"You are not going to. okay? You're not." Emily said firmly

"Your mother is not leaving. I won't let her do that okay?" Shepherd said.

"Come on lay down here." Emily said laying down and taking Bella with her.

"Just stay like this" Emily said hugging Bella tight. "Stay like this until you fall asleep. I'm gonna be right here" she said. "Okay?"

"Okay." Bella agreed still crying. Shepherd saw Emily got that so he went back to bed and the two of them just laid there until they both fell asleep.

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The next morning Emily woke up first around 8.

It was Sunday and that meant they would head to DC. She was happy to take her baby home with her but sad and scared at the same time. She got out of bed and grabbed some empty boxes and started to fill them with the rest of the things on Isabella's room.

About 20 minutes later she was all done. Everything was packed and ready to be sent to DC. Hotch was able to find her a shipping/moving service that offered planes and scheduled them to stop by the apartment at 2 to get the boxes. Emily grabbed one and headed downstairs to try to move them all to make it easier for the service to take them.

"All packet already?" Shepherd asked as she laid the box down close to the stairs. She smiled at him.

"Not all. We just packed some things from her room" she said. "I think it's too soon for her to go through others things you now" Emily said talking about john's things.

"I'm going to bring her back here in two weeks or so. Then she can see what else she wants to take with her"

"Yeah. That's a good idea" Shepherd smiled. "Besides I think it will help that she'll know she'll see everyone again in a couple of weeks" he said.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"I know that the boarding school thing might have helped her with that but I'm sure she's scared she won't see us anymore you know. It's a big changed. DC and you" He said.

"I won't let that happen Derek. I swear I'll bring her here as much as I can. And if I'm not able to come too I'll send her and she can stay with you right?" Emily said.

"Of course she can" He said smiling. "Let's go bring those down" he said throwing his arm around Emily's shoulder.

They had always been really good friends. Both knew it was just that and nothing more.

They went upstairs and took a couple down. A while later Isabella woke up with the noise of a box Shepherd dropped. Luckily it was filled with stuffed animals so nothing could break.

"Sorry" he said.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"I'm not sure" Emily said walking out of the room with a big box.

"Are they here already?" Isabella asked confused.

"No no. We are just taking it all downstairs" Shepherd said walking out.

Isabella stretched and got up. She tried grabbing a box but it was too heavy. She kept going through them till she found a lighter one. She headed downstairs and Emily started going up. She could see Bella was almost still asleep on her feet.

"Let me have this" she said letting out a laugh and grabbed the box from Bella.

Isabella went to the kitchen counter where cereal and milk were waiting for her. She poured a little amount but just enough that they wouldn't say anything, sat down and ate while Derek Shepherd and Emily took the last few boxes down.

Once they were done they sat with her.

"All done" Emily said.

"Are you excited?" Shepherd asked. "DC is really cool" he said. He went there a couple of times.

"I guess I am" Bella said shyly. She was a bit embarrassed with what happened at night.

Emily gave her a sweet hug and said "good morning."

Bella replied with a smile and suddenly the door opened.

It was Jeremy and Marley.

They said hello to everyone and Jeremy gave Bella a big hug. They sat in the couch together and watched tv all morning. Emily and Shepherd decided not to tell anyone about what had happened at night. They didn't want anyone to be more worried than they already were.

After some tv Callie got there and everyone just stayed in the living room talking. A lot of conversations were going on at the same time. Shepherd cooked some pasta. Emily made Bella's plate and again Isabella was not very excited about it but ate almost it all and didn't complain. She left just a little bit and Emily decided to pretend she didn't see it.

It was 2:24 when the moving service arrived. They took all the boxes. Isabella had packed a big suitcase to keep with her in case the boxes took longer then expected and she needed clothes. She also kept her blanket and her stuffed animal Tramp.

Around 3 Emily sat next to Bella on the couch.

"I think it's time to start getting ready" she said with a sweet smile noticing Bella got a bit tense.

"Okay" Isabella got up and headed to her bedroom. She picked some clothes out of the suitcase and went to take a shower. She didn't take to long.

She got out and say on her bed with a towel and suddenly Emily appeared at the door.

"Is everything okay?" She asked when she saw Bella staring at the wall. Isabella looked over at her and said "I don't know if I'm ready"

Emily walked over and sat next to her and held her hand.

"It's a big change honey I know but you'll like it there" she said.

"I guess so but I'll miss everything here too" Bella said as her eyes got full.

"Look I was talking to Derek and I plan to bring you here in a couple of weeks and after that we'll try to come as often as possible. Derek said he'll go visit and Jeremy too. Also if I can't bring you I'll send you to spend time with them. I swear" Emily said.

"Really?" Bella asked surprised.

"Really" Emily said smiling and gave Bella a big hug. She wiped Bella's face and said "now go get dressed because the plane leaves at 6.

Emily hadn't bought the tickets yet but had searched and saw there was a plane to DC at 6. She got up and went to the computer downstairs to buy the tickets and she printed everything fine. When she was done Bella got down wearing jeans, her black doc martins, a grey shirt and a red zipped hoodie. She had her hair down because it was to short to put it up.

"Looking good kid" Callie said smiling and making Bella embarrassed.

Isabella sat next to her and Emily went to get ready. She was fast and got downstairs all done and ready to go in about half an hour.

"So I guess it's time" Jeremy said throwing his arms around Bella. She hugged him and managed not to cry. She hugged everyone and was actually impressed that she didn't cry. Everybody said their goodbyes to Emily and Bella.

Jeremy drove them to the airport. Isabella was very quiet the entire ride and Emily could see that she was tense and a bit sad.

Bella tried hard not to cry but when they went through the city she felt her heart pounding on her head. The thought of not walking around that place with the people she loved was killing her. A few tears went out on her left side and for her luck that side was turned to the window so no one saw. At least she thought that. The truth was that Emily saw Bella wiping them but she chose not to say anything.

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At the airport they checked in and walked to the security check line. They stopped a bit away and Jeremy hugged Emily and then hugged Bella for a long time.

"Call me and text everyday okay?" He said.

"You too" Bella said with a smiled. Her eyes filled up and when Jeremy saw he hugged her again.

"You're gonna be alright" he said. Isabella didn't let her tears fall. They stopped hugging and Jeremy handed Bella's backpack to her. Isabella put it on and Emily grabbed her hand.

"Let's go?" She asked softly and smiling. Isabella nodded yes.

"See you soon kid" Jeremy said and Bella jumped and hugged him again. He lift her off the floor.

"I love you" Bella said with a big smile and no tears in her eyes.

"I love you too" he said smiling too but letting a few tears fall.

"See you soon" she said and grabbed her mother's hand.

And they walked away.

Jeremy felt proud of how strong and brave his sister was but he didn't want her to leave.


	17. Chapter 17: Hello Virginia

They got through security and went to the waiting area of their gate. They sat down and Emily could see that Isabella was anxious. She looked through her bag and got some money out.

"Can you go get me a bottle of water?" She asked a Starbucks close to them.

"Sure." Isabella said standing up.

"Oh get something for you too." Emily said.

"Okay." Bella said. She went and bought the water and a chai latte for her at Starbucks. She went back and sat.

"Thank you" Emily said taking the bottle. She drank a bit and saw that Bella was looking around and seemed not able to stop her feet from moving.

"Hey" Emily said. "It's gonna be alright" she said throwing her arm around Bella's shoulder.

"I know" Bella said. "I'm just..."

"Scared?" Emily said. "I know you are" she said and Emily gave her a sweet smile.

"Im gonna be fine mom. Really" Bella said.

"I know you will but look you don't have to be tough around me okay. It's alright if you want to cry and be upset honey. You know that. I don't want you hiding it from me. Okay? You never did that and I won't let you do it now" Emily said.

"I'll try not to" Bella honestly said.

"Try very very hard okay?" Emily smiled.

"Okay" Bella answered smiling too. She drank a bit more of her drink and then got up to throw it away. Emily chose not to say anything even though she threw more than half away.

They were called to board so they went in line.

Emily handed over the passes and they went in and sat on their seats. Bella had a window seat and Emily sat right next to her. They were flying premium economic.

Bella opened her backpack and grabbed her headphones. Her ears usually hurt on plane rides and the headphones always helped. She placed her backpack under the seat in front of her and stared out the window.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked holding Bella's hand.

"Yeah" Bella said. She looked over at her mom and smiled and gave her a hug. Before letting go she said "I have to admit I'm a bit excited" she said shyly.

"You are?" Emily asked surprised.

"I always wished I could live with you" Bella said sitting up.

"Me too baby" Emily said with a smile and tears in her eyes.

"I just didn't want it to be like this you know. But yeah" Bella said. She wasn't crying or anything. She looked a bit upset but not too bad.

"I'm sure you'll love it there Bells" Emily said throwing her arm over Bella's shoulder and snuggling her. Bella smiled as her mother used the nickname she had always called Isabella, and that was the first time in months that she heard it.

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The plane took off and after 20 minutes they decided to watch a movie. It was a comedy and Bella even laughed a little. After it was over Emily chose a movie called 'Fur' and Isabella fell asleep resting her head on Emily's arm 14 minutes into the movie.

She woke up when they were about to land.

When the plane landed, the got their bags and went outside.

"Is someone picking us up?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah. I texted Morgan. He should be here any minute" Emily said.

And just as she finished there he was.

"Hello Prentiss family" he said getting off the car.

"Hi Derek" Emily said.

"How are you doing kid?" He asked Bella.

"Good." Isabella said. They put the bags in the trunk and got in the car.

"Nice hair" he said with a big smile.

"Thanks" Bella shyly said.

"So home first or office Em?" Derek Morgan asked. They were at the office on a Sunday because they had just got back from a case and was finishing the paper work.

"Office. we need Penelope." She said.

"Oh yeah." Morgan said laughing.

Isabella was just in the backseat wondering why he was laughing and why they needed Penelope.

"You have never been here, right Bella?" Morgan asked.

"Nop" Isabella said.

"Do you like museums?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"We have a great one here. I'm sure Spencer would love to show you around." He said and laughed.

"We can go sometime if want." Emily said.

"Sure." Bella agreed. She wasn't feeling as anxious as she was on the plane. She felt like she could do it.

"I'm gonna call Jeremy to let him know we landed" Emily said.

"Tell him I said hey" Bella said and looked out the window admiring her surroundings as Derek began to drive. Emily texted Jeremy and he replied "okay. Be safe. And tell her to call me later tonight". Emily sent "okay" and a heart emoticon.

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After driving a while they got to the BAU. Isabella was so embarrassed of seeing them again.

Morgan and Emily got out of the car. Bella Unbuckled her seatbelt but didn't get out. Emily saw her face and realized the girl was scared so She opened the door.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah." Bella said.

"You don't want to go in there?" Emily asked.

"I do. I just.." Bella said.

"They are nice. You'll see" Emily said.

"I know they are. I'm just " Bella said.

"You're just what?" She asked.

"Just a little embarrassed I guess." Isabella said shyly.

"Are you two coming or what?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah" Isabella shouted as she jumped out of the car and pretend she was perfectly fine. Emily was laughing as They started walking up to the building. Emily knew the girl was car d so she took Bella's hand.

"I'm right here. Ok?" Emily whispered to Bella. "And they've got our back" she said trying to push her child's fears away. Isabella smiled and nodded yes. They went on the elevator and when they got to their floor everyone was waiting for them. J.J, Penelope, Spencer, Aaron and David were standing in front of the elevator.

"Hi" Emily said. Penelope went and gave Bella a big hug.

"Oh my god your hair looks so cute" Penelope said excited and Bella smiled embarrassed.

"How are you doing?" Penelope asked.

"I'm good" Isabella said. Penelope then grabbed her hand and they walked to the desks.

They talked a little about the place and how Bella was doing while Emily went to talk to Aaron Hotchner.

"So are you a little bit excited to hang out with us?" Penelope asked. She knew Bella was scared and nervous but she believed she was a tiny bit happy too. Because she was with her mom.

"Sure." Isabella said. "I've never been to dc before." She smiled shyly.

"There's actually a lot of cool things here" Spencer said.

Emily came back.

"Well Bella, we gotta go to the apartment now and we'll meet everyone later tonight okay?" Emily said.

"Sure." Isabella said. She liked everyone. They seemed nice. Penelope and JJ were the ones she had most contact with so she was more comfortable around them.

"Penelope, are you coming?" Emily asked.

"Of course I am." She said. She grabbed Bella's hand. "You're gonna love this."

They walked to the parking lot to get Emily's car.

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On the way home they talked about dc and all the things Bella could do. Penelope also told Bella they had comic-con in dc too. Isabella smiled at her and said she would love to go if possible.

"I'll make it possible mini" Penelope said. She called her mini because she was a mini version of Emily.

They drove some more and Bella just starred at all the houses and stores and buildings outside. It seemed a great town, she thought.

When they got to the apartment Emily had a little talk before they got inside.

"Well, this is certainly not as big as in Seattle but I hope you like it" Emily said. They got inside and the first thing Bella saw was Sergio. She ran up to him.

"Oh my god! Sergio!" Bella said running to the cat. "He's so big now" she said looking surprised. Emily had bought Sergio for Bella but Isabella didn't want to keep the pet after what happened to Robbie. So Emily took him back.

"Well he's still yours" Emily said.

"I'm sorry I gave him back mom" Bella said.

"Don't you worry about that baby." Emily said smiling as Bella struggled to hold the fat cat in her arms.

Penelope laughed at the scene and said "your mom sure fed him well" and they all laughed. Bella let him down and They walked around the place and Emily was proudly showing her everything.

"So this is the living room... and this is my office."

"It's a really nice apartment." Isabella said. "Wow look at the view." She said running to the window.

"Let's go upstairs" Emily said. She showed Bella her room and her closet. Isabella was impressed with the amount of shoes her mother owned.

"So do you wanna see your room?" Emily asked.

"Your guest room?" Bella asked sarcastically.

"No your room silly" Emily said smiling like she had a secret, leaving Bella a bit confused.

"Penelope and the team did some magic for me" Emily said smiling and walking to the door beside her bedroom's, the door with big sparkly blue letters that formed the word 'Bella'.

Isabella and Penelope followed her.

"Go on. Open the door." Emily said. Isabella opened and she couldn't believe her eyes. It was beautiful. It was a light purple room with white furniture, a beautiful dresser and a queen size bed right in the middle. There was a gigantic book shelf with tons and tons of books and movies. There was a big shelve with action figures on it. The team worked hard getting all of Bella's things in there. Isabella looked so surprised.

"Oh lord.." She said after seeing everything. "It's beautiful."

"Did you really liked it?" Penelope asked.

"I loved it. Thank you so much." She said. She looked away from them because tears were filling her eyes so she starred at the bed.

"How did you get everything in here so fast?" Isabella asked.

"Let's say our team is a very wonderful one" Penelope said.

Isabella kept starring at the bed.

"Oh I couldn't help and bought some stuff too" Penelope said.

"I see that" Bella said.

On the bed there was a bunch of Disney stuffed animals and there was a shelve next to it filled with more of them. Isabella couldn't hold her tears. Everything was beautiful and perfect.

"Hey are you alright?" Said Emily realizing Bella was crying. She went and hugged her.

"Thank you so much for this" Bella said in tears hugging Emily.

"You're very welcome." Emily said.

"Thank you too Penelope. I loved everything." Said Isabella giving Penelope a hug. Now Penelope was the one crying and Emily laughed.

"Okay you two stop. Let's go eat something." She said laughing.

Penelope and Bella laughed too.

"Okay let's go." Said Bella wiping her tears. They went back to the car and Isabella smiled all the way to the mall. She was feeling so scared but also happy at the same time.

They got to the mall and went straight to Outback.

They had a great time eating and talking. Isabella didn't eat too much but she wasn't complaining about the amount of food anymore. She would eat until she could see on Emily's face that it was okay if she wanted to stop.

After they were done they decided to check the museum Morgan told them about. It was a long time since Emily went there.

They had a great time. Bella thought about her dad the entire time because he always loved museums and at the end she was impressed with herself that she managed not to be dragged down with the thoughts about her dad.

After almost walking the entire place they decided to go back home and take a shower and change to go out to dinner with the team. Isabella was excited but also scared. On their way home they stopped and dropped Penelope at her place.

When they got home they went to Emily's bedroom.

"Mommy? Will you be upset if I don't go?" Asked Bella shyly sitting on Emily's bed.

"Well. No I won't. But you don't wanna go?" Asked Emily sitting next to her.

"I don't know. It just feels weird I guess" said Isabella.

"Feels weird how?" Asked Emily.

"I don't know." Bella said.

"You feel weird or going out with them feels weird?" Emily asked.

"Both I guess" Isabella said confused.

"I think it will be fun honey but if you don't want to go I won't make you" Emily said smiling at Bella.

"I think I'm just scared. I don't know. It's weird." Bella said.

"I know it's weird." Emily said smiling. "I won't make you go but are you sure you don't wanna give it a try? If it's too bad we can come back home"

"Can we really or your just saying that so I go?" Isabella asked.

"I promise you that if you want we'll come back" Emily said.

"Okay. I'll try" Bella agreed.

"I'm gonna take a shower." Isabella said.

"Okay go. I will too." Emily said. And that's what they did. After they were both ready it was already 9 and they schedule for 9:30 at Olive Garden.

"Let's go?" Asked Bella.

"Let me get the keys" Emily said. They went to the car.

They stopped to get Penelope and Spencer. Isabella felt more comfortable with Penelope in there. The dinner went great. Isabella asked Emily if Penelope could stay and she got a yes. Back at the house all three of them were really tired. They changed and sat in the living room. They watched some tv and Isabella fell asleep on the couch.

"Em look." Said Penelope smiling. Emily looked and smiled back.

"She's so cute." Penelope said.

"She is" Emily said.

"It's just impressive how much you two look alike."

"Everybody says that" Emily said laughing.

"It's amazing." Penelope laughed.

"Garcia?"

"Yes." Penelope said.

"Do you think she'll be happy here? I mean happy with me and all of this?" Emily asked.

"I do think so." Penelope said.

"Yeah?" Emily asked smiling.

"She loves you. " Penelope said.

"Thank you Penelope." Emily said. She went and gave Penelope a hug. She went by the couch Isabella was sleeping.

"I'm gonna take her to bed." Emily said picking Bella up. "Oh Lord. She's heavier sleeping" she said.

"Where should I sleep?" Penelope asked.

"You can share the bed with her or the bed couch" Emily said.

"I'd rather share." Penelope said smiling.

"Ok." Emily said.

They went to the room. Emily placed Isabella on the bed and Bella curled up. Penelope said she would sleep now too, it was almost midnight.

"I'm gonna sleep too. Goodnight" Emily said.

"Goodnight"

They went to bed. Penelope fell asleep fast but Emily couldn't. She thought a lot about Bella being there and how she was still afraid someone would try to hurt her daughter. When she was almost asleep her phone rang. She got up scared because it was late so it must have been something bad.

She answered and it was Derek Shepherd.

"Is everything alright?" Emily asked.

Shepherd said that everything was okay in Seattle too and he just called to check on Bella. Emily asked why so late and he said he had just come out of a surgery. They talked about how the day went and then hung up. Emily saw there was a text from Jeremy on her phone. It was saying that he had texted Bella and she talked to him and said she liked DC. Emily was glad. She sent him a message saying "you're Welcome to come here whenever you like. I know she already misses you. Don't worry I've got her. We both love you. goodnight"

And then she laid down to sleep.

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Isabella woke up from a nightmare around 4. She was sweating and shaking a bit. She was scared but she wasn't crying. Penelope woke up when Bella sat on the bed. She hugged Bella and they laid down again.

"It's okay pumpkin" Penelope said cuddling the girl.

"Where's my mom?" Bella asked.

"She's sleeping on her bed. She's okay" Penelope said and Bella let a few tears out.

"It's okay it's okay. I'm right here with you too and your mom is okay" Penelope said hugging Bella tight.

Isabella didn't took long to calm down.

She kept thinking to herself that she was in her mother's house, her mom was right there next door, and she was safe.

About 7 minutes later she fell asleep.

She was just too tired.


	18. Chapter 18: Would You?

▶ Monday

It was 7:36 when Penelope was woken up by her alarm clock and Bella woke up too.

"What's that?" Bella asked sleepy and stretching.

"I gotta go to work" Penelope said.

"Oh" Bella said and gave Penelope a hug.

"Go back to sleep" Penelope said pushing some hair out of the girl's face as Emily appeared at the door.

"Hi" she said looking sleepy.

"I'm so sorry Em" Penelope said.

"It's alright" Emily said. "I have to go to the office"

"What?" Bella asked confused.

"I'm not gonna work honey. It's just to get some papers, okay?" Emily said. "You're coming with me"

"Oh okay" Bella said.

Emily smiled and got on the bed with Bella as Penelope got out.

"I need a shower" Penelope said.

"Make yourself at home" Emily said smiling and snuggling Bella.

"How fast can you get ready?" Emily asked.

"With or without a shower?" Bella asked sounding sleepy.

"Without" Emily smiled.

"About 6 minutes" Bella said.

"Good. Then go back to sleep" Emily said. "I'll wake you up when she's done" she said and Bella closed her eyes.

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After about 15 minutes Penelope went back dressed and ready.

"Let's have breakfast my prentiss's" she said smiling.

Emily woke Bella up.

"You gotta get dressed really fast okay?" She said.

"Okay" Bella said sitting up on the bed looking like a little zombie.

"Come on" Emily said.

Bella jumped out and went to her suitcase. Penelope and the team hadn't put the clothes on the wardrobe, so they were still in boxes and suitcases.

Penelope went to the kitchen and Emily and Bella went to change. They were really fast and met Penelope at the kitchen island. Emily's kitchen island was bigger than the one in Seattle, her living room was bigger too.

"Honey I think you put your shirt wrong." Emily said laughing.

"Oh" Bella said starring down her shirt which was definitely inside out.

Penelope laugh.

"I'll fix it later" Bella said siting on a stool.

She ate some cereal while Penelope and Emily drank coffee. Then she fixed her shirt and they headed to the office.

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The car ride to the office was quiet. Isabella fell asleep 3 minutes in.

"She's out" Penelope said when she noticed Isabella sleeping.

"Did she sleep well?" Emily asked. "I was expecting her to show up in my bed"

"She woke up scared one time and asked where you were. It wasn't like the other ones though. Well I think" Penelope said.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked a bit confused.

"She didn't scream or anything like that. She looked scared but when I said you were sleeping next door she started calming down you know." Penelope said.

"Look Garcia. I trust you with her so I have to tell you something but you need to promise not to tell anyone else okay?" Emily said.

"I won't sugarplum" Penelope said worried.

"She's having nightmares about me dying too" Emily said serious and Penelope was in shock.

"Poor thing" Penelope said looking back at Bella fast asleep in the back seat. "No wonder she's so scared"

"I've talked to her godfather about me going back to work and everything and would it be okay if she stayed with you? When I'm out of town" Emily asked a bit embarrassed.

"Of course it would be okay Em. It would be my pleasure" Penelope said smiling.

"I just don't want her to be with a nanny. She'll hate that. And I'm pretty sure she already loves you" Emily said.

"I love her too. Very much" Penelope said all perky. "Don't you worry supermom. I'll make sure she has an awesome time with her auntie Penny okay?" Penelope said smiling.

"Thank you" Emily said smiling too.

"No problem" Penelope said. "Well, just one thing." She said concern.

"Yes" Emily said.

"It's likely that I might need to stay the night In my office. Should she sleep in my couch or should I get a babysitter to keep her company in your or my house?" Penelope asked making a face at the word babysitter.

"Well... you decided. I think either way she'll be fine." Emily said. "And anything you just call me"

"Alright. I'll ask her then" Penelope said.

"Sure. Just let me talk to her first okay? We need to sit down and talk about my work. She's scared and I think me explaining some things might help with that. I'm not going to the field with a terrified child at home" Emily said.

"Yeah. And if you need anything I'm here" Penelope said serious. She was not used to an insecure Emily. And she couldn't help but notice Emily seemed very serious about not going on the field till Bella was ready.

"Thank you Penelope" Emily said parking the car.

They unbuckled and Emily turned around to wake bella.

"Aww I feel bad for having to wake her up" Emily said.

"Maybe Morgan could take her to my office" Penelope smiled.

"I don't know if she'll like that" Emily said. She knew bella would probably get really embarrassed.

Emily got out of the car and opened Isabella's door.

"Bella" Emily said striking Bella's hair. "Honey wake up" she whispered close to Bella's ear. "We're here" she said as bella slows opened her eyes.

"Hi" Emily said. "Come on we have to go" she said taking bella seatbelt off. "You can sleep in Penelope's office"

Isabella got out of the car looking like she was half asleep. Her eyes weren't fully opened yet. Emily closed the door.

"Come here" she said pulling bella to her arms and picking her up. "I know you're tired I'm sorry" she said.

"It's okay. But can I really sleep in her office?" Bella asked rubbing her hands in her eyes and the resting her head on Emily's shoulder.

"Of course you can. My lair is now our lair now" Penelope said excited making both Prentiss's smile. And they walked to the building.

They went inside the elevator and Emily put Isabella down. Penelope grabbed he girl's hand and Bella hugged her. The kid was really tired.

When they got to their floor Emily spotted Hotch.

"Well I'm gonna go talk to Hotch and I'll stop at your office to pick her up when I'm done" Emily said.

"Okay" Penelope said.

"And you be good" Emily said giving bella a big smile. Isabella nodded yes and walked with Garcia to the office. The team was at the conference room and didn't see them.

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"So this is my place" Penelope said as she opened the door.

"Why do you have so many screens?" Isabella asked confused. "Can someone even use all of these?" She said smiling and making Penelope laugh.

"So from now on you're welcome here whenever you want" she said all excited taking Bella towards the couch.

"Thanks" Bella said.

"Well let me go get you a blanket and you just make yourself at home" Penelope said smiling. Isabella sat down on the couch, her eyes wondered around the big office with little lights and funny miniatures around. She was glad Penelope was like that.

After a while Penelope went back with a grey blanket and gave it to Bella.

"Are you still tired mini?" She asked.

"A little bit" Isabella said.

"Try to get some sleep cause Your mama might be there a while" Penelope said. Isabella laid down and covered herself up. She and Penelope talked a little bit about how the BAU was and what Emily was probably discussing with her boss. It wasn't long till Isabella was fast asleep while Penelope talked.

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Almost after an hour and a half Emily went to Penelope's lair.

She had signed some papers because she was taking the week off and also asked Hotch if there was a possibility of her getting a week off the field once she got back. She wanted to give Isabella time to adjust to everything and specially a new school and having to stay with Penelope. Hotch cleared her for that and told her to take as much time she wanted.

She opened Penelope's door slowly to find JJ and Penelope staring at her daughter who was fast asleep on the couch.

"Hey" Penelope whispered.

"Hi. How is she?" Emily asked.

"She slept the whole time Em" JJ said a little concern.

"Hey J. The kid is tired. Let her sleep for as long as she likes" Penelope said not whispering anymore more and Isabella moved a little.

"Shuuu shuuu" JJ said laughing.

"Are you heading home now?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah. If she's up to we might go somewhere else" Emily said walking closer to the couch. She sat down and slowly woke Isabella up.

"Did you sleep well?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Isabella said and gave her mom a hug. "Can we go now?"

"Sure" Emily said with a sweet smile. Isabella got up still a bit sleepy and said her goodbyes to JJ and Penelope who hugged her. They were almost at the elevator when Morgan ran up.

"Hey. You didn't thought you two would leave without talking to me did you?" He asked and gave bella a hug.

"How are you doing kiddo?" He asked.

"I'm good" she shyly answered.

"Glad to now" he said giving Emily a look. They both Knew she was anything but good.

"So I'll see you two soon right?" He said.

"Sure" Emily asked.

"Alright. Have a great day ladies" he said as Isabella and Emily walked into the elevator.

.

They walked to the car. Holding hands as always. Isabella sat on the front seat and buckled in.

"Do you want to go for a walk in the park with me? It's a lovely day and we're very close to this really cool park. I think you might like it." Emily said.

"Sure" Isabella said not sounding really excited. Emily noticed and she also knew Isabella didn't really wanted to go but she just went with it. The kid needed some fresh air and a bit of sun.

They drove to the park silently as Bella's eyes wondered around the streets.


	19. Chapter 19: Him Back

…

They stayed at the park for almost 2 hours, Bella didn't want to play on the playground so they just walked around looking at other people passing by and ducks in the lake. It was calm and peaceful and Isabella loved it. She wanted to stay longer but it was almost lunch time and Emily told her she wanted to stop by the mall to get some things before lunch.

.

At the mall Emily went to the gap store for a new pair of jeans. As they were walking out of the store Isabella spotted a really big Disney store.

"Oh my god." She said as her eyes widened.

"What?" Emily asked confused.

"Can we go in there? Please?!" Isabella said with a big smile on her face.

"We sure can" Emily said, as she saw the store, with a big smile on her face at the look of her exited daughter. She couldn't believe how excited Isabella still got every time she saw a Disney store. The kid sure always loved Disney.

Emily felt like they were in that store for hours and Isabella only went home with 2 tsum tsums.

They had lunch at the mall, at Chick-fil-a. Bella wasn't very excited about lunch time and even tried the 'I'm not hungry right now' thing but Emily wasn't buying it. They got their food and sat down to eat.

Isabella had eaten half of her sandwich and she felt like she was about to throw up. She placed the sandwich down and drank some coke. Her eyes filled up with water.

"Bella" Emily said softly when she noticed the girl trying to hold back the tears. Isabella didn't look at her. The girl just suddenly looked so down.

"Let's go home" Emily said standing up and grabbing her bags.

Isabella got up and they went to the car not saying one word.

"Do you promise me you'll have dinner?" Emily asked softly as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Yes" Isabella said and rested her head on the window, letting a couple of tears fall. Emily gave Bella's hand a squeeze and began to drive.

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When they got home it was about 2.

Isabella went upstairs to her bedroom without saying a word.

She was feeling so tired and so sick of everything. She liked there and she liked her mother very much but all she wanted was her dad and it was killing her, the fact that she would never have him again.

Emily went to take a shower so she could give Bella some time. When she was done getting dressed she went to Isabella's room to find her daughter lying in bed with a book on her hands.

"Hi" Emily said walking into the bedroom.

Isabella didn't even look at her.

"Are you alright?" She asked sitting on the bed.

All she got was a nod.

"Did you feel like that again when you were eating?" She asked and suddenly Isabella put her book down and got off the bed.

"Honey, where are you going?" Emily asked as Bella walked to her suitcase.

"I'm going to shower" Bella said serious and not looking at her mother.

Emily got up and walked to Bella who grabbed pajamas and tried to go pass her mother.

"We need to talk" Emily said blocking the way.

"No we don't." Isabella said serious.

"Just sit down for a second okay. Just talk to me" Emily said calmly but firm.

"I don't wanna talk. Just let it go" Isabella said pissed off pushing Emily to the side so she could pass to get to the bathroom.

"Bella" Emily called as the kid slammed the bathroom door shut.

Emily knew Isabella was holding everything up because she wasn't talking to anyone. Emily was scared that she didn't know how to deal with all of it. She wished John was there more than ever because she knew John would've known what to do.

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Bella took almost an hour to leave the bathroom. She already had pajamas on even though it was a little over 4pm.

She went to her bedroom to find Emily there waiting for her.

"We really need to talk" Emily said serious.

"We actually don't" Isabella said sitting in front of her dresser and picking up a hairbrush. "Mom I know you're worried okay? But don't be. I'm alright." The little girl said sounding much older than she really was.

"You're not alright honey. And you know that" Emily said and Isabella didn't even look at her. "I know all of this is scary and its okay if you're upset with me but you can't shut me out, alright? I already told you I'm not letting you do that, Okay?" Emily said.

"I just don't want to talk about anything right now, okay?" Isabella said heading to the door. Emily wasn't sure if she should push it or not, so she stayed silent.

"So do you want to watch a movie or something?" Isabella asked, stopping at the door and staring at Emily.

The girl was really nervous, pretty much about everything.

"Ya…sure," Emily replied. She wouldn't let it go but decided to try again later.

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As the child scrolled through the TV guide, Emily went over everything in her head.

They sat in silence watching tv till almost 7 when Emily finally said "I'm ordering pizza. So do you want half pepperoni half margherita?"

"Sure. Anything is fine" Isabella said sounding a bit grumpy.

Emily knew at that moment it was going to be a horrible dinner.

She went and ordered the food while Bella just laid on the couch and didn't take her eyes off the tv. Emily set the table and a few minutes later the pizza got there.

"Dinner's here" she called.

Isabella got up and turned the tv off.

"Look. The deal is two slices okay?" Emily said firmly but smiling at the end.

Isabella sat down and started eating a slice while Emily poured some coke for both of them.

Isabella had eaten just half of the first slice when tears started filling her eyes.

She was thinking about her dad.

She couldn't help it.

Everything she saw there she would always think how much her dad would have loved it and she wanted to know what he thought about her hair and her new room. She wanted pizza nights and movie nights with him again. She just wanted her dad back.

"Hey" Emily sweetly said getting up and sitting next to Bella. "What happened?"

"I can't do this" Isabella said looking down.

"Bella is pizza you love pizza honey" Emily said.

"It's not just pizza. It's all of this. I can't do it" Isabella said as the tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Emily hugged her.

"I know it's a lot and I know you're scared but I'm right here, okay?" Emily said running her hand on Bella's back.

"I wanna go to bed" Bella said sadly.

"Okay but look" Emily said as she stopped hugging Bella and stared at her eyes.

"Tomorrow there'll be no leftover food" She said and Isabella nodded yes.

"I'm serious, alright? I'm not letting you get sick." She said and hugged Bella again.

"Let's go" she said getting up and Bella followed her. When they got to the living room, Emily asked "how about if we stay here for a while longer? It's early still and there's doctor who soon" Emily said.

Isabella shook her head no.

"Please" Emily said making a begging face.

"Okay" Bella said still sounding very sad.

Isabella laid down at the big couch and Emily sat at the end of it. About 15 minutes of TV Bella was out.

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After a while Emily found herself lost on the young girl still sleeping next to her. She couldn't deny that Isabella was more like her then she ever realized. It wasn't just the physical features but also the way they both acted and dealt with things was way too similar and that scared her.

Suddenly the peaceful look on Isabella's face seemed to disappear, replaced with one of fear.

"No….please," Isabella mumbled beginning to toss around the couch. "Don't" she cried.

Emily kicked into action right away.

"Bella," the older brunette called out, hoping to pull the girl out of her nightmare, giving the girl a gentle shake.

"Daddy…please...no mommy…." tears began to leak from the girl's closed eyes.

"Bella, wake up," Emily shook harder, the look of distress on the child's face breaking the profiler's heart.

"Ahh" Bella let out a loud scream and opened her eyes.

When she felt hands holding her she pushed away not seeing who it was.

"Baby it's me" Emily said.

Isabella looked at her and the tsunami started. She tried covering her face but Emily held her wrists and pulled her into a hug. Isabella was sobbing and shaking so much that Emily pulled her into her lap and hugged her tight.

"it's okay. It was just a bad dream." Emily kept repeating.

Emily tried to talk about the nightmare but Isabella refused.

She cried herself to sleep in about 4 minutes. She was so tired.

Emily carried her upstairs and decided to stay on Bella's room with her.

Thankfully that night Isabella didn't have any other bad dreams.


	20. Chapter 20: Just Hug Me

****** sorry it's been a little while. I got a bit busy but here it is.**

 **a big chapter!**

 **i hope you'll enjoy and please review if you can! i love reading what you guys are thinking about this story.**

 **xo-b**

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* * *

(Tuesday)

.

The next day Emily woke up at 10:36am and noticed Isabella had a tight grip on her shirt.

She was feeling so bad and worthless because there was nothing she could do to make those horrible dreams go away.

She grabbed Isabella's book at the nightstand and began reading since she didn't want to wake the girl up. It was 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower'. Emily thought the title was interesting and read a couple of pages before Isabella woke up.

"What are doing?" Bella asked super sleepy.

"Oh good morning" Emily said putting the book back on the nightstand.

"Hi" Bella said still a bit sleepy.

"I was just reading a bit" Emily said. Isabella noticed she was holding her mother's shirt. She felt embarrassed and let go. Emily pulled Bella into a hug.

"I'm going to make breakfast, okay? Do you want pancakes or cereal?" Emily said.

"Cereal is fine" Isabella said closing her eyes again.

"Alright. I'll bring it up here" Emily said and gave Bella a kiss on the cheek.

Isabella just stayed there lying in bed thinking about how she just wanted to go back to sleep.

She was feeling tired all the time now and it was like it was getting worse because she couldn't get her dad out of her mind.

.

It wasn't long till Emily went back upstairs with a cup of coffee and Bella's cereal.

"Hey. Here" she said walking over to Bella. Isabella sat up and took the bowl full of cheerios.

"Eat everything, okay?" Emily said firmly but nicely. Isabella nodded as Emily walked to the other side to sit.

It was hard but she did manage to eat everything. She took quite a while so Emily was reading the book again.

"I'm done" she said as she put the bowl in the nightstand and laid back down.

Emily put the book down and hugged Bella.

"Good job" she said smiling and they just stayed there in silence for a while till Emily asked "so… what are our plans for today?"

"Stay in bed all day and sleep" Isabella said.

"Oh no, that's a horrible plan" Emily laughed.

"I don't really feel like going out mom" Bella said.

"What if we stay in bed and watch some tv and later in the afternoon we go out a little?" Emily asked knowing that a little was better than nothing.

"Okay" Bella said rolling her eyes and Emily laughed.

The little girl got up and went to the bathroom while Emily turned the tv on and put it on "That 70's Show". She thought the kid could use a little laugh and Isabella liked that show.

They snuggled on the bed for a while and then Emily's phone rang.

While Emily talked on the phone, Isabella sat on the bed, watching TV and texting her best friend, Cameron, about everything that had been happening. She told Cameron that she was scared but she didn't really share much. Cameron said she would try to visit Bella soon and they would talk about all of that. She also said Bella should talk to her mother, because she needed to open up with someone before she exploded. Isabella was still upset, and was feeling pretty overwhelmed, but talking to Cameron help a little. And she thought that maybe if she had the guts she could tell Emily everything.

Every so often she would watch Emily as she talked on the phone with JJ, noticing small things that her mother was doing that Isabella herself tended to do, like twisting her fingers and biting her lip. She started thinking that maybe her mother knew what she was feeling.

The girl was just feeling too scared to open up because she felt as if it would make everything more real and that scared her so much.

.

When Emily finally hung up the phone, she looked over to the child to find her staring back at her as if in a daze.

"Hey, you okay?" Emily asked, breaking Bella from her trance.

"What? Oh yeah…sorry," Isabella replied, looking embarrassed.

"So what do you say we order some food for lunch?" Emily asked. "And don't tell me you're not hungry, because you've hardly eaten a thing." Isabella just stared at her mom.

"So what do you feel like?" Emily asked.

"We could eat like... chicken? Does anyone have chicken fingers?"

"Yeah" Emily said trying not to sound too surprised but failing it. "I know a good place that does," Emily answered.

Emily got her phone to place their order, while bella watched the TV, unsure of what she was even watching now.

Emily soon hung up the phone, sitting down on the other side of the bed, watching Isabella, whom she could tell wasn't really taking in what was playing in front of her.

.

They just sat there till the food arrived. They went downstairs and sat together at the island. They ate chicken fingers and a salad. Isabella was not hungry but ate everything her mother put on her plate without complaining. She was just too tired and upset to open her mouth to say anything about the food.

She hated that Emily was controlling her eating.

"So do you want to go out now?" Emily asked as they both got up to take their dishes to the sink.

"Not really" Bella said serious.

Emily noticed she was getting a bit grumpy.

"So what if we stay at home today and go out tomorrow? Would that be better?" Emily asked smiling knowing that Bella would agree.

"100 times better" Isabella said. "I'm gonna lay down again then" she said starting to walk to the stairs but Emily stopped her.

"No-o. I said stay in the house, not sleep all day or stay locked in your bedroom all day" she said smiling and pushing Bella towards the living room. "We're staying down here baby" Emily said.

"Can you please not call me that?!" Isabella said as soon as she heard baby. She was serious and Emily didn't quite understand why she was upset with that, she had called Isabella "baby" before, but she said "sorry".

They walked to the couch and sat and turned the tv on.

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Isabella and Emily spent the day watching cartoons and chatting every now and then about things they were seeing on the tv.

Emily noticed that Bella seemed a little more guarded than ever, so she decided she would give the kid some time to think things out.

As night fell and they grew tired of television, Isabella decided to take a shower, while Emily ordered something for dinner.

Emily grabbed her phone but just before she was able to call, the phone started ringing. The caller I.D. showed it was J.J.

"Hello?" JJ said.

"Hi. Is everything alright?" Emily asked.

"Yeah yeah. Penelope and I were thinking if it was okay to have a movie night tonight with Bella and you?" J.J said.

"Oh Of course" Emily said.

"We were just thinking, You know since Penelope said she'll be staying with Bella sometimes and I thought they should spend more time together to get used to each other" JJ said.

"sure" Emily said. "But I still didn't tell her."

"Oh" JJ said. "But How's everything going there? Where's she?"

"She's in the shower, and things were going pretty good at first," Emily explained wearily, "but I think the eating part and just staying at home is getting her a bit freaked out, she's been pretty guarded lately."

"Well it's a lot to handle," JJ assured her friend, "I'm sure she'll come around."

"I know, is just that she always told me everything" Emily said.

"She misses him and she's scared Em. She probably doesn't want to upset you with what she's feeling" JJ said.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked confused.

"Emily, you all lied for 3 years. She's just 10. She's a kid. And she probably thinks that you all will keep lying to her" JJ said. "I know it's hard for you too but it's just consequences. She'll come around. Just give her time."

"You're probably right" Emily said realizing her friend was exactly right. Isabella had lost the trust she had on her mother. And that broke Emily's heart. She breathed deep and said "well you guys are welcome to come over and sleep here too if you'd like. I just can't promise she'll be excited to see you two"

"Alright. We're leaving work right now and I'll stop by to grab a few clothes. We'll be there soon." JJ said.

"Alright. Bye" Emily said and hand up the phone after JJ said bye.

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After a while Bella went downstairs wearing her pajamas and her hair was all wet.

"Washed your hair?" Emily asked.

"yes" Bella said serious siting down at the couch and starting to comb her hair. Emily got up and headed to the couch Bella was sitting.

"Let me help you" she said putting her hand on the brush but Bella pulled away and got up.

"I got it" she said and walked to the stairs.

Emily just sat there and waited for her friends.

It wasn't long till they got there bringing a bunch of candy and popcorn for their movie night.

"Hello! Where's my little sunshine?" Penelope said happily as she walked inside.

"Your little sunshine is more of a tornado today so beware" Emily said smiling and JJ gave her a comforting look.

"Is she in her room?" Penelope asked. "I've got her a little something" she said holding a Hot Topic bag.

"Oh my god! Already starting with all the spoiling." Emily laughed at the huge bag.

"Oh it's my job darling" Penelope said making JJ and Emily laugh.

JJ and Emily went to the living room and started going through some movies while Penelope went upstairs. She was sad to find Bella sitting in front of the dresser just staring at the mirror while tears went down her face.

"Bell?" Penelope said with a sad tone. "What's wrong?" She asked worried as Bella wiped her face as fast as she could.

"Hey it's alright" Penelope said placing the bag down and rushing over to the child and hugging her.

"Please don't tell my mom" Bella said still hugging.

"I won't" Penelope said letting go and wiping tears of Bella's face.

"I'm fine." Bella said. "It's just this stupid hair"

"I don't see any stupid hair here" Penelope said smiling and making Bella face the mirror and stare at herself again. "You look gorgeous" she said with a big smile.

"Don't lie to me too. I look like a mess" Bella said.

"No you don't. Here let me fix this" Penelope said getting the brush. Isabella sat there quietly as Penelope brushed and braided her hair into two side braids.

"How about now?" Penelope asked once she was done.

"How did you do that?" Isabella asked surprised. "I couldn't even do a pony tail in this thing" she said laughing.

"I have superpowers" Penelope said with a big smile.

"Thanks for using them on me" Bella smiled.

"You're very welcome my tiny Prentiss" Penelope said and hugged Bella. "I think we should go watch a movie huh?"

"What?" Bella asked confused.

"Your mom didn't tell you?" Penelope asked.

"I guess not" Bella said.

"JJ and I are staying over tonight. We brought a bunch of candy and popcorn so we can hang out and watch a movie" Penelope said all excited.

"Oh" Bella said not really excited.

"Hey, it's going to be fun! Let's go little tiny" Penelope said pushing Bella towards the door. Before they could make it out Penelope remembered the presents.

"Oh wait! I almost forgot. I got you a couple of things" Penelope said grabbing the bag and handing it over to Bella.

"A couple?" Isabella asked sarcastically sitting on her bed to open the bag.

Inside there was a doctor who throw, two doctor who shirts and a Harry Potter pullover.

"I saw your books in Seattle and I assumed you liked Harry too and this was too cute not to get it" Penelope said watching Bella smiling looking through all the gifts.

"You shouldn't have bought all of this Penelope." Bella said shyly.

"Oh no worries. It's my job as your fairy godmother to make sure you have everything you can possibly need" she said smiling.

"Just stay around and that's fine" Bella said with a sweet smile.

"Awe you are too cute. I can't handle." Penelope said hugging Bella really tight.

"I can't breathe" Bella joked and Penelope let go.

"Sorry" Penelope said smiling. "Well, we better go down before they eat all our candy"

"They wouldn't dare" Bella said smiling and getting up.

"Hey get your new blanket. We both could use some doctor love" Penelope said all perky. Isabella laughed and got the throw and they headed upstairs.

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At the living room they found JJ and Emily eating marshmallows as the menu of 'Inception' was playing.

"Look at that hair" JJ said all excited when Bella approached.

"My special computer goodness Fairy did it" Isabella said smiling at Penelope who couldn't be happier with what she heard.

Emily and JJ laughed.

"Well you look amazing" JJ said.

Bella and Penelope walked over and laid on the floor together while Emily and JJ sat on the couch behind them. They already had popcorn done and a bunch of candy laid out. Penelope grabbed the popcorn bowl and started eating with Bella. They watched the film and chit chat about it.

Bella was hugging Penelope when the movie was over and they realized she was asleep.

"Thanks for the cheer up guys" Emily said. "Really. She was so down earlier and I think she actually had fun tonight."

"Anytime my mama bear" Penelope said.

They stayed downstairs for a while and then decided to go to sleep because JJ and Penelope had to work and Emily was planning to go visit a school with Bella in the afternoon.

"Bella. Let's go to bed" Penelope said trying to wake the girl a little.

"Come on I can't carry you now. You're full of popcorn" Emily said sitting next to Bella who opened her eyes.

"Hi" Penelope said.

"Let's go to bed honey" Emily said and Bella sat up still sort of sleeping.

"Come on you gotta brush your teeth, you little popcorn monster" Penelope said.

"Come on I'll help you" Emily said hugging Bella and sitting her up. She held Bella's hand and pulled her up and they went upstairs to Bella's bathroom. She was more awake there and brushed her teeth while Emily waited to tuck her in sitting at the end of the bed.

"Come on lay down" Emily said as Bella walked out of the bathroom. She laid on the bed and Emily covered her up.

"Sleep tight" she said giving Bella a kiss on the forehead. "Penelope will be here soon okay? She just went to shower"

"Okay" Bella said putting her hand under her pillow to touch her blanket. "Goodnight mom"

"goodnight Bella" Emily said and went out.

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Emily took a shower after JJ. They went to bed and JJ was almost asleep when someone knocked on the door.

It was Bella.

She was with Penelope but all she could think about was what if she had another nightmare. She wanted her mom so she went and knocked.

"Come on in" Emily said.

Bella opened the door. She looked embarrassed and she was holding her blanket behind her back.

"Mom?" She shyly said.

"Yes? Are you okay?" Emily asked.

"I can't sleep" she shyly said as tears filled her eyes. JJ got up and hugged Bella.

"I'll stay with Garcia. You go stay with your mom okay?" JJ said with a sweet smile putting the hair away from Isabella's face. She walked out and headed to Isabella's bedroom. Isabella ran to Emily's side and hugged her. She didn't cry but she was scared.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"Just hug me" Isabella said hugging Emily tighter.

And like that they fell asleep.


	21. Chapter 21: You Are NOT Okay

(Wednesday)

Isabella was still asleep next to her, her back towards Emily, when Emily looked over at the clock she saw it wasn't even 7:30. Her friends were meant to be at work by 10.

Emily was just about to get up from the bed, thinking she could get a shower in before Isabella awoke, when Bella began to cry in her sleep.

"Please…. ….no please," she sobbed, breaking Emily's heart.

"Bella, honey wake up," Emily called out loudly, shaking her a little by the shoulders.

Isabella's eyes shot open, tears still running down her face, quickly pulling away from Emily as if she didn't know who it was.

"Hey, you're okay…it's okay," Emily comforted, keeping her distance not to scare Bella.

Isabella began furiously wiping at the tears that were still falling, sniffing as she tried to get control of her breathing back , and refusing to look at her mother, feeling embarrassed.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked a few minutes later when she was sure that Bella was able to speak again.

"I'm fine," came the quick response that Emily had expected.

"It's okay you know, nightmares are perfectly normal honey," Emily reassured. "no need to be embarrassed."

"I said I'm fine," Bella snapped, taking Emily by surprise. She didn't know if it was because she wasn't around much so she didn't see Bella mad or if it was all because of John.

"Okay," Emily replied slightly hurt. She got up from the bed in hopes of hiding the hurt that she knew was written on her face.

Isabella remained quiet, knowing she was pushing Emily away, but feeling unable to control it. Emily could tell that something was obviously wrong with the girl, she knew her baby was really hurt, and as much as she wanted to put it off, she knew that she needed to talk to Bella sooner rather than later.

Deciding to take the plunge, Emily took a seat on the bed, facing the child who was still refusing to look up.

"Look Bella, maybe we should talk about everything," Emily began.

"We already did" Isabella responded, picking at the comforter that was covering her legs.

"I know we did, but I've never seen you like this honey. You've been acting weird since we got—"

At this Isabella's head snapped up, interrupting Emily, "Acting weird? And this is based off what? The 5 days you've been with me?"

Emily felt like she had been slapped in the face, but continued on, attempting to keep her face and tone calm. "Bella if you're upset about having to move to DC—"

"I said I was fine didn't I?" the girl said.

"You're clearly not fine," Emily replied with a sigh. "I just think we should talk about this."

"Please …. Mom" came Bella's sad reply, shaking her head, "…Please."

"Okay," Emily relented; knowing that forcing her to talk about this right now would only result in a bigger fight, "okay."

Emily stood back up again "I'm going to take a shower then," she explained.

"Okay," bella replied, leaning back against the headboard looking defeated. Isabella knew she was treating Emily terribly; her mom only wanted to help, but she just couldn't deal with everything right now. She didn't want to talk about everything. She just didn't.

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Emily walked into the bathroom feeling completely defeated. The night before she had felt like things were going to be okay. She saw her kid was happy, but now things were the complete opposite. Isabella was shutting her out, and while Emily understood how much the child was going through, she couldn't help but feel hurt. Emily took her time in the shower, wanting to give Bella a little time to cool down, hoping that if she let her be for a little while, then perhaps she would come to her. Just as Emily was stepping out of the shower her cell phone rang from where it was sitting on the bathroom vanity. Wrapping herself in a towel, she made her way over to the phone, seeing that it was Hotch calling.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hi. Is JJ with you? I can't get ahold of her" Hotch said.

"Oh yeah. Her phone might have run out of battery. I'll tell her to call you I just stepped out of the shower."

"Oh okay. I'm sorry" he said.

"She'll call you right back" Emily said and they hung up. She got dressed and got out of the bathroom to find that Bella was not there. She headed to Isabella's bedroom to see if JJ was awake. And they weren't there either. She headed upstairs and found all 3 eating cereal on the island.

"Good morning" she said and everyone but Bella smiled at her.

"J. Hotch called. He needs you to call him."

"Oh no. That could mean just one thing" Penelope said.

"Mean what?" Isabella asked confused.

"We probably have a case" JJ told the girl.

"Oh. So he just calls and you have to leave?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah. Sometimes" JJ said. Isabella went back to eating and just stared at the fridge. Emily saw she was still upset.

JJ went to call Hotch and Emily sat to have breakfast too.

"So we had agreed to go out today. So where do you want to go?" Emily asked.

"My bed" Isabella said serious.

"Oh someone is rather moody" Penelope said. Isabella just ignored while Emily gave her friend a smile.

"Your bed or anywhere inside this house is not an option so pick something else" Emily said taking her coffee mug to the sink. Isabella didn't say anything so Emily turned back and stared at her.

"So? What's gonna be?" Emily asked but once again no answer. "If you don't chose I will" Emily said.

"Hey hey you don't want her to do that! Come on say something before she picks something horrible" Penelope said laughing.

"Library!" Bella said really fast before Emily could say anything.

"Library?" Emily asked to confirm.

"Yeah. Library" Bella said.

"Alright I think it's a good choice" Emily said giving Bella a sweet smile but the girl didn't smile back.

"Well you go shower and when you're done we leave" Emily said. Isabella got up and took her bowl to the sink.

"I'm done" she said and ran upstairs before Emily could see she didn't eat all her cereal.

"Smart kid" Penelope said as they both realized the bowl was almost full. "She tricked us"

Emily laughed "she hates me now"

"Oh no she doesn't. She's just upset about not staying at home but she'll be alright." JJ said coming back to sit with them.

"I hope so" Emily said. She just wanted to force Bella into talking to her.

"Well we have to go Pen. We're heading to North Carolina" JJ said. They said their goodbyes to Emily and made sure the brunette promised to give Bella a hug for them.

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Inside the bathroom Isabella was taking a bath and she just felt like she wanted to disappear into the water. She let herself cry with the thoughts of her dad and Seattle and her friends so far away. She felt like she was stuck in DC. She loves her mother but she just felt stuck all the time. And the second things felt normal and even happy her dad would appear in her thoughts just making her broken again.

She took almost 40 minutes to get out of the bathroom. She wore black leggings, a pink long sleeved top and her hair was wet.

Emily was already ready and she had decided to try to talk to Bella again. They had 4 days before she had to go back to work and Bella back to school.

"Want some help with that?" Emily asked as she walked into the bedroom seeing Bella in front of the dresser struggling to fix her hair.

"No thank you" Isabella said serious. Emily went over there anyways and touch the comb on Bella's hand.

"I said no thank you" Isabella said loudly. Emily jumped in surprise. She turned Bella's chair around. Isabella looked down at the floor and Emily kneed down so Bella would look on her face.

"I am not letting you talk to me like this. You say you're not a baby anymore so I'm pretty sure you understand me." Emily started and Bella just looked scared at her. She never saw Emily angry like that.

"I am not going to stand here watching you fade little by little. And this is not about the food. I don't give a fuck about the food. I'm just not letting you shut me out and keep everything inside till you blow up. I am not letting that happen. I don't give a fuck if you're mad at me for not telling you your dad was sick, okay? I don't. And I just don't want you to keep hiding things from me and acting like you're fine because you are not fine. You are not." Emily said her voice getting louder and louder.

When she finished she was standing again and Isabella looked terrified. The little girl had so many tears falling that she couldn't even see right.

They were silent for a moment and then Emily breathed deep and said as tears started to stream down her face too.

"I'm sorry honey but I'm your mom…and I'm here. And I know you want your dad. I know. I know it's all knew staying with me and it's a new city but IM here. And I miss you. I miss my little girl. But I know she's there and she's just hurt right now." She said kneeing down again in front of the girl. "And I'm not letting her ever go away. Okay?" Emily said crying.

Isabella just jumped into her mom's arms and sobbed.

"I miss him mommy" she cried.

"I know you do baby I know" Emily cried. "I miss him too"

"It just feels like I'm alone and I know I have you but i just..." Bella said but couldn't finish.

"You just what honey?" Emily asked.

"I feel like you'll leave like before at any time and I'm gonna be alone. And don't say your team is my family because they're not. You are. And I'm scared you are just gonna die. I'm so scared" Isabella sobbed.

Emily hugged her tight. Her heart aching with what she was hearing.

"I'm not going to leave you honey. I am not okay? I'm not" Emily kept repeating.

"I talked to Penelope and she'll watch you when I need to go on a case and you two will have fun and I'll be back soon. I'm not leaving ever, okay?" Emily said running her hand on Isabella's back. "Only when I'm super super old. Remember?" Emily said smiling, letting Bella a bit lose so she could look at her face.

"I'm just scared" Isabella said staring into her mom's eyes.

"I know you are and it's okay to be. What is not okay is you pretend everything is fine when in your head and you heart nothing is fine at all." Emily said touching the girl's chest.

"I'm scared someone will try hurt me too" Bella finally said it.

"What do you mean? From my old job?" Emily asked. She knew it was but she wanted Bella to say it.

"Yeah. I'm scared someone will come for you and they'll know about me now and they'll hurt us." She whispered and cried.

"It's okay to be scared but I won't let anything happen to you honey. I promise I won't. Ever." Emily said hugging Bella, she could feel the kid shaking.

"And my team. Our team. They'll take care of both of us. I know they will" Emily said for the thousandth time. "It's okay to be sad and scared but you can't let that stop you from doing things. I know you're tired but little by little you'll started feeling less crappy but for that you have to live baby. You can't just stop, you know?" Emily said rocking Bella slightly.

"Yeah" Bella said calmer than before.

"Do you promise me you'll come to me for anything?" Emily asked. "Really anything I'm right here"

"I promise" Bella cried and Emily hugged. "I'm sorry I was mean to you mom" came the sweet voice of the girl.

"It's alright now baby" Emily said hugging Bella tighter.

They sat there on the floor for a while till Emily realized Bella had fallen asleep.

The older woman started to sob. She couldn't control it.

Isabella suddenly woke up because she could feel her mom crying.

"I'm so sorry" Isabella cried and hugged her mom feeling horrible for making her mom cry.

She never saw Emily like that.

She never saw her mom mad, or raising her voice and especially not sobbing.

"Honey it's not your fault" Emily said. "It's okay. I'm okay" Emily said but she couldn't control a little laugh that came out as she noticed she just did exactly what she was begging her daughter not to do.

She sat Bella up on her lap in order to make the kid look at her. Emily wiped a few tears from her baby's face.

"Look. It isn't your fault. I miss your dad too. And I always wanted you here with me but I never wanted it to be like this. I never wanted you to be so upset about anything. I never wanted you to get hurt. I just wish your dad was here with us too. And that hurts really bad. It just hurts." Emily admitted to her daughter exactly what she was feeling.

"I feel that too" Bella said with red eyes.

"Whenever you feel sad or upset at anything you come and tell me okay?" Emily said again. "You just tell me"

"Okay" Bella said and hugged her mom.

"Let's go back to bed for a while" Emily said and they got up and laid in bed. Isabella remained silent, chewing her bottom lip, as tears continued to leak slowly from her sad eyes.

It was a few minutes before Isabella spoke again, but to Emily it felt like hours.

"Mom?" Isabella asked.

"Yes honey" Emily said wiping her face. She couldn't believe she sobbed in front of her daughter.

"I love you" Bella said and hugged her mom tight.

"I love you too. Very very much" Emily said tightening the hug. "Go back to sleep" she said running her fingers on her daughter's hair and It wasn't long till Bella was out again.

.

Emily couldn't sleep.

It was still early in the morning and she just laid there thinking about everything that had just happened.

She called the school and instead of scheduling a tour for that afternoon she scheduled for the next day knowing that they would spend the rest of the day at home. She also called Isabella's friend Cameron and asked if she could go to DC on the weekend. Cameron said she had to be back for something on Sunday afternoon but she could leave Friday after 3. So Emily said she would get her tickets and email everything later that day. She knew her daughter needed her friend. After that she decided to unpack some of Bella's clothes that were still in boxes but Isabella was holding her shirt tight and wouldn't let her grip go. So Emily just laid there.

She managed to sleep for 20 minutes and when she woke up Bella was still fast asleep and she was now snuggling her blanket. Emily just took some time to stare at her kid sleeping peacefully like a little baby. And then she went downstairs to unpack. She unpacked one suitcase of clothes and placed everything in the couch because she didn't want to wake Bella up. When she started the second one Isabella appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Mom?" Bella called.

Emily turned to Bella who was just standing there. She walked to Bella scared that she might have had a nightmare. She hugged Bella and when she let go Bella wiped her face.

"Is everything alright?" Emily asked worried because the girl was crying again.

"Can we go to that park again?" Bella shyly asked while she blinked away the tears.

"To the park?" Emily asked confused.

"I felt good in there." Bella said burring her face on her mom as she felt her eyes burning badly. Emily picked her up as the girl tried hiding her face.

"Of course we can go. But why the tears?" She asked.

"I don't know" Bella said. Emily put Bella down and wiped her face.

"I can't help it. It just came out" Bella said. Emily could see she was telling the truth.

"It just came out" Emily repeated in a sweet voice as she was letting the kid know that was completely normal, she hugged Bella again.

"Alright it's cold out so go grab a coat and put your shoes on so we can go" Emily said giving Bella a sweet smile.

Bella went upstairs washed her face, grabbed a black winter coat and put stripped socks on and her purple wellies and headed downstairs.

Her hair was a mess.

"Let me help you with that" Emily said when she saw Bella at the bottom of the stairs trying to put her hair up.

This time Bella didn't pull away. She turned around and Emily fixed it for her. Her hair was too short to do a good pony tail, because to many pieces would fall so Emily did half up.

"There you go. Much better" she said smiling when she was done.

Isabella smiled at her and they went out.


	22. Chapter 22: Let's Talk School

…

The ride to the park was quiet.

Emily wanted to give Bella some space after all the yelling so she stayed quiet.

At the park they walked around for hours, chit chatting about things they were seeing.

They sat on a bench facing the lake.

"I guess this city is not so bad" Bella said laying her head on Emily's arm and making her mother smile.

The kid just loved that park. She felt so calm walking around with the cold wind hitting her face.

They sat there for a while and then Emily said "are you hungry?"

Isabella looked at her mother who had a big hopeful smile on her face.

"Sure" Bella said shyly. She wasn't really hungry but now she felt like if she needed to she could tell her mother why.

They headed to Olive Garden.

Bella got spaghetti and Emily ravioli. Once again the amount of food was a lot and Bella knew she wouldn't be able to finish it all.

"Mom?" She asked embarrassed.

"Yes?" Emily said and stared at Bella waiting for her to talk.

"Can I eat just half?" She asked wishing she could hide her face. She could feel her cheeks were red.

"Half and then desert?" Emily asked smiling.

"Okay. Deal." Bella said and then stuffed spaghetti in her mouth.

Emily let out a laugh.

They ate and Bella ate exactly what she was supposed to.

"Can we have ice cream for desert?" Isabella asked.

"Wanna share a Sunday?" Emily asked smiling.

"Yeah" Bella smiled back.

After eating Emily knew she had eaten way more than half of the Sunday herself but she could feel Isabella was more relaxed.

"So… do you want to go to the movies now?" Emily asked hopeful.

"Can we do that another time?" Bella asked. "I'm kind of tired and I don't want to sleep there again" Bella said.

"Sure" Emily said. "So let's go? I need to get groceries"

Emily paid and they left.

In the car Emily told Bella what she wanted to get at Walmart and Bella typed it all on her phone. Emily also said she could pick some things she liked, snacks for school and things like that. So they bought everything and actually had a great time together. Bella felt good that she went grocery shopping with her mom and for the first time it felt normal. They headed home, unloaded the groceries and watched tv the rest of the afternoon.

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Around 6 Bella went upstairs to her room and Emily stayed downstairs cooking dinner.

"Bell. Dinner's ready" Emily said opening Bella's bedroom door and stopping there.

"I'll be right down. Let me just finish this chapter." Bella said with a "Judy Moody" book in hands.

"Okay don't be long or it will get cold" Emily said and she headed downstairs with a big smile on her face. She was happy there was no 'I'm not hungry' or 'leave me alone's. And it wasn't long till Bella went down.

She headed to the table to find Emily sitting there waiting for her.

"So I made chicken breasts, rice and a salad. I'm not the greatest chef but I hope you don't hate it" Emily said laughing.

Isabella made her plate and it was with a kind of decent amount of food. Emily would have put more but she thought the amount was alright for a 10 year-old.

Bella ate a bit and said "it's actually good mom". And she continued eating and that made Emily smile big.

Isabella ate everything.

"So do you want some ice cream?" Emily asked.

"Maybe later?" Bella asked with a begging tone and look.

"Alright. Later." Emily smiled. They put everything away and Bella did the dishes. Then they sat to watch tv. Bella texted her brother, Callie and her godfather Derek Shepherd.

.

Almost 2 hours had pasted when Emily decided to tell Bella about the school tour she had scheduled.

The school was Bristol Academy and Spencer and Penelope insisted that it was the best school in town. Spencer called to arrange a meeting but they told him they wasn't accepting new students but he explained what happened to Bella and once he told where Isabella used to study they told him to send her files so they could take a look.

Emily got an email three days ago letting her know that they were impressed with Isabella's academics specially at such a hard boarding school and that Isabella was more than welcome at their school and they invited them for a tour.

So she schedule for the next day.

She was a bit scared of mentioning school to Bella, but she knew she would have to sooner or later.

"Bella, we need to talk about school" she said.

Isabella was sitting next to her on the couch and turned her head and stared at Emily.

"What about school?" She asked. Emily could see she was a little afraid.

"I want you do go back to school next week since I'll be working from the office. So I can pick you up and everything." Emily said.

Isabella was silent.

"Well Spencer and Penelope showed me this great school close to the office and they said it's the best in town. So I scheduled a tour for tomorrow so we could take a look"

"It's the best in town?" Bella asked.

"Yeah." Emily smiled proudly.

"Okay" Bella said giving a little shy smile to Emily.

"Hey, you'll do great there" Emily said seeing in Bella's eyes she was scared.

"Mom? What exactly is gonna happen when you travel?" Isabella shyly asked as she picked her fingernails.

"I talked to Penelope and she said she'll look after you. If you want that of course" Emily said.

"Yeah. I do" Bella said with tears in her eye.

"Good" Emily said and pulled Bella to her lap. "She'll take good care of you and I'll be away just for a little while. And you can call me anytime, okay?" Emily said softly.

"Okay" Bella said wiping a tear that had fallen.

"And about school I'm sure you'll do amazing." Emily said and Bella smiled. "No tears because of that, okay?" Emily smiled.

"Okay." Bella smiled too. She was scared but she knew it was just school. She liked learning and she knew she would probably get good grades and things like that but it was the making new friends part of school that scared her. She was never very good at it.

"So we're going to go see it tomorrow at 5. The principal told me there won't be many kids there because they get out at 3:30 so she thought you would be more comfortable." Emily said.

"Okay" Bella agreed smiling.

"I think you'll like it" Emily said hopeful.

"So... about that ice cream..." Bella said changing the subject.

"Let's go" Emily said and they both got up and went to the kitchen.

They ate a bit of ice cream and headed upstairs. Emily was happy that from time to time that day she could see her daughter's eyes glowing more and more, and not from crying.

They both took a shower, Emily tucked Bella in and then she went to bed.

Both of them feel asleep really fast and slept the entire night.

In their own bedrooms.

And there were no nightmares.

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(Thursday)

Emily woke up and it was 9:34. She got up and went to wake Bella up. When she got to Bella's bedroom she was not there. When she got out of the bedroom Bella was at the top of the stairs.

"Did something happen?" She asked scared.

"No. I just made pancakes. Do you want some?" Bella asked and she could see Emily breathing out deep.

"I sure do" Emily said wrapping one arm around Bella's shoulder.

"Since when do you make pancakes alone?" Emily asked her.

"It wasn't that hard." Bella said as they headed downstairs.

"Just be careful, alright?" Emily said.

"I know mom" Bella said smiling.

When they got to the kitchen Emily could see a pile of pancakes in the island and there were also syrup, strawberries and sugar on the side.

"I made two for me, cause I'm not really hungry but I wanted pancakes. And the other 3 and a half are yours" Bella said.

"And a half?" Emily asked confused.

"The other half got burnt" Bella said and they both laughed.

They sat down and ate.

After eating they watched some tv then Bella decided to finish unpacking her clothes and Emily went to help. It wasn't long till they finished. Emily threw the boxes away and put the suitcases away while Bella sat in her bed. She just looked around her room, everything was in place and she thought that that was it.

That was where she was staying.

That was going to be her life from now on.

She suddenly felt such sadness in her heart because she missed her father really bad. Her eyes filled up and she thought she was going to explode but then her mother appeared at the door.

The sadness didn't go away completely but she realized that she would be okay because her mom would be there right by her side.  
"Hey. Are you okay?" Emily asked worried walking to sit beside Bella when she saw the child's teary eyes.  
"Yeah. I'm just glad you're here right now" Bella said hugging her mom and keeping her tears in.  
She didn't want to cry.  
"But are you alright?" Emily asked worried.  
"Yes I promise I am" Bella said with a smile.  
"Okay." Emily said putting Bella's hair behind her ear.  
"So where are we going to eat?" Isabella asked wanting to change the subject.  
"How about pizza today?" Emily said.  
"Really?" Bella asked.  
"Yeah and then we could catch a movie before heading to the school. What do you think?" She asked hopeful.  
"Okay" Bella said with a smile.  
"Alright then. Let's get ready" Emily said getting off the bed.  
They both took a shower and washed their hair.  
Emily wanted to look very presentable to the principal so she wore a pink blouse and a lady suit, pretty much her FBI kind of clothes. She blow dried her hair, straightened it and let it hang down. Isabella wore her usual jeans, a grey and light purple 3/4 sleeved shirt and her black wellies. She combed her hair a little and went to Emily for help.  
"Can you maybe try to do those braids Penelope did?" She asked.  
"Those two french braids?" Emily asked to make sure.  
"Yeah. That looked good right?" Bella asked.  
Emily could tell she was nervous and started to imagine how crazy nervous she would probably be on the first day.  
"Honey calm down. We've got this" she said smiling.  
She did Bella's hair and it turned out really great.

They grabbed their bags and headed off to Pizza Hut.  
At Pizza Hut they got pepperoni. When they were done eating they went to the movies and decided to watch 'Despicable Me 2' since Isabella had fallen asleep last time.  
When the movie was done they headed to the car and Emily drove to the school.  
"Wow. This place is ginormous" Isabella said as Emily parked the car.  
"It's pretty right?!" Emily said smiling.  
"I guess" Isabella said unbuckling. Emily could see she was nervous.  
"We've got this" she said grabbing Bella's hand and giving it a little squeeze. Isabella smiled and got out of the car.  
They started walking to the big stairs in the front and Bella grabbed Emily's hand. She was really nervous about how the school was, and how the people were and also about not being with her mom.

Emily gave Bella's hand a squeeze and smiled at her "I think you'll like it" she said. Isabella smiled at her and they walked in.  
First thing Isabella noticed was the pretty hardwood floor of the main entrance.

"Mom?" She whispered grabbing Emily's suit.  
"Yes honey?" Emily said stopping to pay attention to why Bella was whispering.

Isabella pulled her down to reach her ear.  
"Are you sure this is the school? 'Cause it sort of looks like the White House" Bella whispered on Emily's ear.  
"I'm pretty sure we are in the right place honey" Emily said close to Bella's ear. As she stood up straight an older man approached.  
"Hello. You must be Emily Prentiss?" He said and Emily nodded yes and shook his hand. "And you are Isabella. Am I correct?" He asked now waiting for Bella to shake his hand too.  
"Yes sir" Isabella said and shook his hand.  
"I'm Carl Jones. The principal. Co-principal. Ms. Eliza Ridel is not at the school today but she told me you were coming so I'll give you a tour" he said.  
Emily looked surprised.  
The older man seemed nice but a bit scary. Emily could see that Isabella was very nervous. So she threw her arm around Bella's shoulder.  
"So if you please follow me" Principal Jones said.  
"Sure" Emily said as they started following the man.

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Jones showed them the school and both liked it very much. Isabella was nervous about the fact it was such an important academy and that she would have to leave her mom working but she liked that they had only 15 kids per year, and everyone took the same classes, she was also excited about their theater club and choir, and even P.E. .

Emily couldn't help but notice Bella smiling as she heard about some things she liked.  
After the tour they headed back to the main hall.  
"So I can give you some time to consider everything but I need an answer by tomorrow. And she would need to start on Monday" Principal Jones said to Emily who nodded. "As Ms. Ridel told you the academy would love to have Isabella with us and we are making an exception here. She'll be the 16th student in her year so if you do enroll her we need to make changes to the classroom to make space for another student. That's why I will need the answers by tomorrow" he said.  
"Alright sir. Thank you so much for the tour. It's a lovely school and I'll call as soon as possible" Emily said. "We just need to talk and I'll call" she shook his hand.  
"It's was lovely to meet you Isabella" he said.  
"You too sir" Bella said shyly with a little smile and shook his hand.  
"I hope to hear from you soon." He said. "Drive safe"  
"Thank you. Goodbye" Emily said and Bella smiled.  
They walked out of the school holding hands as they always do.  
They went inside the car.  
"So...?" Emily said. "What do you think?" She asked.  
"I liked it" Bella said shyly.  
"Are you sure?" Emily asked serious. She really liked the academy and wanted Isabella to have a good education and that was the best in the city. She couldn't be more proud of her girl from all the things the principal said about Bella getting accepted.  
"If you want it" Bella said.  
"Honey, it's not just what I want. Did you feel good in there? Did you like what they have? Because if you didn't we can look for another one." Emily said serious.  
"I liked it. I really did. I just..." Bella said with teary eyes. Emily saw and held her hand.  
"Hey what did we talk about? No crying because of this, alright?" She said softly.

Isabella nodded yes.  
They stayed quiet for a while and then Bella said "I don't think we'll find anything better mom"  
"So this is it?" Emily asked excited and Isabella nodded yes.  
"No-o. I want to hear it. Is this the school you want?" Emily asked excited. She couldn't be prouder.  
"Yes" Bella said with a sweet smile.  
"Alright let's go" Emily said opening the door of the car.  
"Let's go where?" Bella said.  
"I'm going to enroll you. Come on" Emily said waiting for Bella to get out of the car.  
She got out and Emily walked and picked her up.  
"You're gonna do awesome here" Emily said giving her a kiss on the cheek. And then she put Bella down and they walked to the big stairs once again.  
Isabella smiled and bit her bottom lip, still nervous.  
They walked to the principal's office down the hall.  
"Hello I just spoke to Mister Jones and we're he-" Emily said but was interrupted by Jones.  
"Hi. Did you forget something?" he said.  
"Oh I'd like to enroll her" she said proudly wrapping one arm around Bella's shoulder.  
"Oh. Of course. Follow me" he said smiling and they walked into his office. "I am very excited to have you at the academy Isabella. If you have any questions you are welcome to come to me" he said.  
"Thank you" Bella said.  
"Please have a seat." He said gesturing the two chairs in front of his desk.  
He explained to them everything. Handed Bella her schedule and talked about the school uniform which was sold next door to his office. Bella also chose what language she wanted to take.  
"We have Russian and French" the principal said.  
"French?" Bella asked Emily. Emily and John had taught Bella french since she was very little. The girl could speak that perfectly. She could also speak Portuguese because her nanny taught her.  
"Are you sure?" Emily asked smiling.  
"I don't really like Russian" Isabella said with begging eyes.  
"Alright" Emily smiled.  
They signed everything and then they said their goodbyes.  
"So on Monday I'll have someone from your class show you how things work around. And anything you talk to Miss Healy, my secretary, and she'll let you in" he said.  
"Alright." Bella said smiling.  
"Thank you so much sir" Emily said shaking hands with the man again.  
"I'll see you on Monday" he said to Bella smiling.  
"See you Monday" she replied.  
Emily grabbed Bella's hand and they went to get uniforms.

That was something Bella hated. She loved wearing whatever she felt like and she hated the uniforms. And for her sadness they were pretty much similar to her boarding school ones. White shirts, black suit, a magenta or grey pullover, tie, plaid skirts, and all uniformy stuff she didn't like.  
Emily got one of each thing and had a smile so big on her face Isabella said: "mom you're freaking me out. Stop smiling so much" making Emily laugh and hug her. Emily couldn't be prouder.  
They left the school with bags of uniforms and headed to car.  
"So we're done? Did we get everything?" Emily asked.  
"Yup. I'm pretty sure we did" Bella said laughing at all the bags they had.

They put the bags in the backseat and got inside.  
"I'm really proud of you Bella" Emily said serious.  
"Proud of what mom?" Isabella asked confused.  
"Proud of you being you. You're a really great kid. Do you know that?" Emily smiled and started driving. Isabella smiled shyly.  
They decided to grab some dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then they went home.  
"I left a place reserved for uniform in your wardrobe so hang everything there alright?" Emily said as they walked in the apartment.  
"Okay" Bella said heading to the stairs with all the bags. She went up and did that while Emily texted Reid to thank him for his help and to tell Bella was staring on Monday.  
He couldn't be more excited and even said that if she needed help with any school thing she could just ask. Then she called Penelope to tell her how the day went and then texted JJ, Jeremy and Derek Shepherd to tell the news.  
She stayed in her room for a long time talking to her friends and giving Bella some space to process everything.

It's was about 9pm when she headed to Isabella's room.  
She found Bella asleep, still wearing her boots and with a book open next to her. The kid always had a book around.

She let out a laugh remembering how one time John thought that Bella could read when she was 3, but they found out she had memorized the story word by word.  
She got the book, market it and placed it on the night stand.  
She took Bella's shoes off, covered her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
"Goodnight baby" she whispered with no response. The kid was out.

She turned the nightlight on and the bedroom light off and headed to her bathroom for a shower.

In the shower she took the time to rethink everything that had happened on the last couple of days.

She could see how Bella was feeling better but she could also see the kid was still scared. She knew school would probably help with keeping Isabella's mind busy. She knew her kid was smart, Bella had always been her little genius.  
After the shower she went to check on Bella and the kid was fast asleep so Emily went to bed too.

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 ****** biggest chapter i ever wrote =) i hope you guys liked it and please let me know what you're thinking about how the story is going and what kind of things you'd like to see. I have big plans for it =)**

 **xo-b**


	23. Chapter 23: Surprise

(Friday)

It was a little passed 8 when Emily's phone began ringing. She woke up with a jump to find JJ calling.  
"Hello?" She said sounding sleepy.  
"Oh did I wake you?" JJ asked feeling guilty.  
"No it's fine" Emily said. "Is everything okay?" She asked.  
"Yeah. I just wanted to let you know we're going to be on the plane in around 30 minutes so I thought we could maybe hang out, you, bella, Garcia and I, when we get back" she said.  
"Sure. Sure. I think Bella would love that" Emily said.  
"Okay so I see you soon" JJ said.  
They hang up.

Emily got up and went to the bathroom and then went to check on Bella who was still fast asleep. She decided to cook breakfast before going to wake Bella.  
She did scrambled eggs and fresh orange juice and then went up to wake Bella. When she got to Isabella's bedroom the bed was empty.  
"Bella?" She called heading to the bathroom to check. No sound was heard. She headed to her bedroom.  
"Bella?" She said as she opened the door. She found Bella all curled up on her bed, with her face in the middle of the two pillows.

Isabella had woken up from a nightmare again and went to Emily's bed but Emily wasn't there. Bella didn't want to go looking for her mom while she was crying so she decided to just lay down on her bed and wait till the feeling was gone.  
"Hey. Are you alright?" She asked worried walking over to the bed. Isabella didn't answer.  
"Hey I made you scrambled eggs and some juice... hunm? Would you like some?" She asked running her hand on Bella's back.  
"Yes" Bella said sitting up. Emily could see she had been crying. Emily wiped her face and said "hey. What happened?"  
"I just woke up not feeling very good. That's all. Can we go eat now?" Bella said fast and avoiding eye contact.  
"Bella. What did we talk about this? You need to tell me so I can help" Emily said pulling Bella's chin up in order to make her look at her.  
"You can help by giving me breakfast" Bella said serious not wanting to talk about what happened.  
"Alright come on" Emily said smiling and they went downstairs.

After eating they sat to watch some tv. Emily pulled Bella to her lap and let her down like a baby.  
"Can you stay like this for a little while?" Emily asked.  
"Sure" Bella said confused.  
"I could hold you like this forever you know" Emily said.  
"I could stay like this forever too mum" Isabella said smiling and hugging Emily tight. They just hugged and watched tv. It wasn't long till Bella was out. Emily was impressed that she actually fell asleep because she knew the kid slept pretty much the entire night.

Emily stayed there holding her girl till around 11:30 when Isabella jumped awake.  
"Hey it's alright I'm here" Emily said as fast as Bella woke up and hugged her. "I'm here. I'm here. It's okay" she said as her daughter cried.

Isabella started wiping the tears with anger.  
"Hey don't" Emily said running her thumb softly on Bella's cheek to wipe the tears. Isabella just let her mom do that and stayed there quiet.  
"So do you want to talk about it now?" Emily asked of course expecting a yes.  
"Can we talk before bed? I don't really want to do that right now" Bella said. Emily was surprise about the 'before bed'.  
"Alright. Before bed then" she said wiping another tear that feel down on Bella's face. "So how about you shower now? You kinda stink" she said smiling.  
"No i do not" Isabella said smiling embarrassed.  
"Yeah you don't but go shower before you start to" Emily smiled and started to tickle Bella on the ribs.  
"Oh no no mom please stop" Bella giggled. "Stoooooop" she begged and Emily pulled her into a hug stopping. "I love you" Emily said.  
"I love you too" Bella replied.  
"Now go stinky face" Emily said kissing Bella's cheek and Bella got up and ran upstairs.

Isabella took a shower while Emily cooked some spaghetti. They had lunch and then sat to watch tv.  
"JJ is coming over later today. I think Penelope might come too" Emily said.  
"Cool" Bella smiled.  
"We could maybe see if the team wants to go somewhere for dinner." Emily said. "okay" Bella said not looking very excited.

"it's alright if you don't want to." Emily said.

"its fine mom" Bella said.

"Can I invite them to go out then?" Emily asked excited.  
"Sure you can" Bella smiled.  
Emily then text JJ who said the team would love to do that so they scheduled for 7:30. Emily and Isabella spent the afternoon watching tv and reading.

When the clock hit 4:37 Emily's phone rang. It was Isabella's friend Cameron.  
"Hello?" Cameron said.  
"Hi" Emily said.  
"Well I'm at the door." Cameron said.  
"You are?" Emily asked surprised because she was meant to pick Cam up at the airport.  
"Yeah Derek picked me up. I wanted to surprise you two" she said.  
"Alright" Emily said laughing. "I'm coming". She hung up. "Bella can you get the door for me?" She asked.  
"Who is it?" Bella asked.  
"Morgan" Emily said wanting Bella to believe it was just Derek Morgan.  
Bella walked to the door and opened it.

When she saw Cameron she said "cam" and jumped and hugged her. Cam let her backpack drop and just picked Bella up.  
"I missed you so much" Cameron said.  
"Me too" Bella said crying.  
"Why are you crying?" Cameron asked.  
"I don't know" Bella smiled. "How long are you staying?" She asked.  
"I have to go back tomorrow morning" Cameron said with a rather sad face.  
"I thought you would leave on Sunday" Emily said.  
"I wish but I'm changing houses now and it's chaotic there. I already changed the ticket too" Cameron said.  
"Wait. You knew she was coming?" Bella asked confused.  
"Your mom sent me the ticket" Cameron said.  
"Really?" Bella asked smiling and making Emily smile even more.  
"I promised you didn't I?" Emily said smiling. Isabella went and hugged her.  
"Thank you mom" she said.

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** They had a great time chatting and watching tv. Cameron was happy about Isabella's new school and she could also see Bella was a little nervous but also happy about it. Around 6 they went to get ready. The drive to the restaurant was quiet. Emily and Cameron could tell Bella was a bit nervous.  
"let's go," Emily said with a smile, as the three made their way out of the vehicle and into the restaurant. When they entered Emily could see the team sitting at a table in the corner, all chatting, clearly grateful to have finished with the case.

Emily steered Bella towards the table, a hand on her back, drawing Morgan's attention from the conversation as he saw them approaching.  
"Hey, there they are," Morgan said with a big smile on his face.  
"Hey guys sorry we're late," Emily said.  
"Hi," Isabella said giving a small wave.  
"Hi" Cameron said before taking a seat next to JJ, Isabella sat next to her and Emily took the seat on Bella's other side. Rossi handed them menus. "I've been to one of these in Seattle. Have you even been there?" He asked Bella about the restaurant 'Levan'  
"Oh ya, lots of times," Isabella answered, taking her menu, but leaving it unopened in front of her.  
"What are you going to get?" Cameron asked looking over at Isabella who was fiddling with her silverware.  
"steak and fires" Bella answered easily.

"Oh that sounds good!" Emily said looking at her menu again.  
There was a few minutes of silence as everyone made their choices. The conversation remained light for the rest of the meal, everyone chatting and having a great time. Isabella was embarrassed when they brought up the school subject but she liked that everyone was super proud of her. Reid was all smiles when Emily thanked him for the hundredth time and said they both loved the school. As the night continued on, Emily noticed Isabella looking more and more tired, finally deciding that it would probably be best to go back home to sleep.  
"Well I think we better call it a night," Emily announced.

"Do you mind if I ride back with you guys?" JJ asked.  
"Of course," Emily replied with a smile. "You ready kid?"  
"Ya," Isabella said, standing from her seat and Cameron followed.  
The team all said goodnight.

They made their way to the car in the parking lot, all four getting in and settling down in silence as Emily started the vehicle and pulled out of the parking lot. The four remained quiet, enjoying the comfortable silence before Bella called out from her seat in the back of the car, looking almost asleep.  
"Mom?"  
"Yes honey"  
"Can we go to the park tomorrow?" She asked slightly embarrassed. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Like it was hitting her that the next day was already Saturday and the weekend would fly by and soon she would be at school and her mom would be working. She thought the park could help calm her a bit. She loved that place and somehow just sitting on that bench looking at the lake made her feel good.  
"Of course we can" Emily said. "And you are welcome to join JJ, and bring little Henry"  
"Sure, if that okay for the little one" JJ smiled and looked over at Bella who smiled back "of course it's okay. I want to meet Henry" Bella said. Henry was JJ's son, who was 3.  
"Alright. So I can pick you up on our way there" Emily said. "What time do you want to go Bella?" She asked.  
"I don't know" Bella said.  
"How about 11? We can drive Cam to the airport and then pick them up." Emily said.  
"We could walk around and then have lunch?" JJ said.  
"Sure" Bella smiled resting her head on the window.  
"Alright. I'll pick you up around 11 then" Emily told JJ.  
"Okay." JJ smiled. "Is it alright to tell pen? She'll be upset if we don't include her in this" she laughed.  
"Of course you can. I was going to tell Bella to do that" Emily said looking at Bella from the mirror. "Well I guess it's best if you do. I have a feeling she'll be out soon" Emily whispered to JJ noticing Bella was fighting her sleep. JJ smiled and then there was silence again. Isabella just stared out the window for a little while fighting against her eyes that wanted to close and wondering how it would be like at school and staying with Penelope when Emily was away. She fell asleep about 2 minutes later. Emily dropped JJ off and headed home.

When she got there she woke Bella up and they went to the apartment. Emily and Cameron went to the kitchen to get some water and Isabella went straight to bed, she didn't even change, she was just so tired. When Emily went upstairs to tuck Bella in she found the girl fast asleep still with her shoes on. Emily took them off and covered Bella up, kissed her forehead and went to take a shower.  
As she was walking out Cameron got to the top of the stairs.  
"Is she asleep already?" She asked.  
"Yeah" Emily let out a laugh.  
"Has she been sleeping okay?" Cameron asked.  
"Not really but she sleeps" Emily said.  
"She'll be alright eventually" Cameron said. "When my dad died I couldn't sleep either" she said. She felt weird telling Emily that but she knew Emily was probably scared too.  
"It gets better eventually" she said.  
Emily smiled. "Well. You can share the bed with her and anything just go get me" Emily said.  
"Okay" Cameron agreed. "Where's the bathroom?" She asked. She had pajamas on her hands and she wanted to take a shower. "It's in there. Make yourself at home" Emily said.  
"Thanks" Cameron said. Emily smiled and said "I'm going to take a shower too" and headed to her bathroom.

After about 6 minutes Isabella jumped awake from a nightmare. She managed not to let her tears fall. She tried to go back to sleep but she couldn't so she got up and went to her mom's bedroom. Emily and Cameron were still in the shower.

Isabella laid on Emily's bed, smelling the sweet scent of her mother from the pillows, she felt safe like that, and it wasn't long till she fell back to sleep. Emily got out of the bathroom to find Bella on her bed. She let out a laugh and laid next to her daughter who didn't even move a bit. After a while Cameron got out of the bathroom and was surprised to not find Bella there. She was embarrassed to walk around the apartment but she had to make sure Bella was okay. She checked under Isabella's pillow for the blanket and it wasn't there so she figured she went to her mom's bed. Cameron walked to Emily bedroom and the door was almost closed. She knocked quietly.  
"Come in" Emily said and Bella didn't even move. The kid was out. Cameron opened the door and smiled at the sight.  
"I just wanted to see where she went" Cameron said. "Goodnight"  
"Goodnight Cam" Emily smiled as the girl closed the door.

Emily just stared at her sleeping baby till her eyes closed and she fell asleep too.

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 **(** **Saturday)  
**  
Emily woke up and Bella was snuggling her.

Emily could feel the tight grip of the girl's hand on her shirt. She smiled at the sight.  
It's was almost 8:30. She decided to stay in bed for a little while longer. The plans for the day were drop Cam, go to the park, have lunch and then she wanted to take Bella to the library for as long as the kid wanted.  
Emily just stayed there till Bella woke up around 9.  
"Hi" she whispered as soon as Bella's eyes opened.  
"Good morning" Bella whispered.  
"Did you sleep okay?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.  
"So after lunch what do you think about heading to the library?" Emily asked.  
"Sure" Bella said and hugged Emily closing her eyes again. Emily smiled.  
"Alright so we need to get ready it's 9" Emily said. "Come on" she said sitting up and taking Bella with her.  
"Just 5 more minutes?" Bella asked.  
"Alright." Emily said laying back down.

.

After a couple of minutes she said "alright, now we have to go" and they got up. Bella went to shower and Emily went to make coffee.  
"Good morning" Bella said heading to hug Cameron who was sitting combing her hair in front of the mirror.  
"Did you have a nice night?" Cameron asked and Bella nodded yes.  
"I'm gonna shower" Bella said.

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It wasn't long till Isabella went to the kitchen dressed in black leggings, a white The Wizard of Oz t-shirt and black wellies. Her wet hair down with a towel around her shoulder. They had breakfast and then Emily went to get ready, leaving Cameron and Bella at the living room. Isabella was combing her hair.

Emily put on jeans and a blue shirt, just her simple regular clothes, and headed back downstairs.  
"Mom? Can you help me?" Bella asked trying to put her hair up on a ponytail.  
"Sure but I don't think you can do that yet" Emily said smiling and Cameron laughed. "How about half up like mine?" Cameron asked.  
"Sure. Whatever. Just please get this thing off my face" Bella begged taking some hair off her face. Emily laughed and walked to her to help. She did the half up and put a little clip on Isabella bangs, which could have gone behind her ears but she didn't want the wind to mess it up so Emily put a clip on and then they left.  
Bella hugged Cameron the entire ride and they promised to talk every day. At the airport Isabella cried a little bit but Cameron promised to go visit and Bella stopped crying. Cameron walked into the security check area and Bella and Emily headed to the car.  
"She'll come back" Emily said noticing Bella was fighting her tears. Bella smiled.  
"I know I just miss her already" she said sad. Emily hugged her and they went inside the car.  
They stopped in front of JJ's house and Penelope was the first out of the door holding a car seat in one hand and Henry's hand on the other, carefully leading the boy down the steps. JJ followed behind with a basket. JJ got into the car while Penelope put the car seat in.  
"Well I thought we could have lunch there" JJ said smiling laying the big basket on her lap.  
"We're having a picnic?" Bella asked excited.  
"Yeah" JJ said also excited giving Bella a big smile. Penelope placed Henry in the car seat and jumped in.  
"All done here" she said.  
"So Bella this is my son Henry and Henry this is Bella. She's Aunt Emily's daughter. Can you say hi to her?" JJ said.  
"Hi" the little boy said a little shy.  
"Hi" Bella said shyly too. She thought about how cute he was and she couldn't help but smile about JJ calling Emily aunt.

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The car ride was fun.

Penelope saying how excited she was for the picnic and all of that and Bella played with Henry with a car he had with him and soon they made it to the park. The picnic consisted in lots of laughter and fun. Henry was completely in love with Bella and wanted to play with her all the time, Penelope went to take him to playground and he said he wanted Bella to go.  
"I think I lost my godson" Penelope said to Emily and JJ who were sitting down while Bella ran to the playground with Henry.

Penelope wasn't really sad, she was smiling big at the sight of the little boy giggling with Isabella.  
"Well, he definitely has a new best friend" JJ said and the women smiled.  
They played for a while and then JJ said Henry needed a little nap so they decided to go home. Emily dropped them off at JJ's. Henry asked if Bella could go play inside and JJ said Isabella would go there another time and then Emily headed to the library with Bella. They looked for books for quite a while. Now and then Bella would sit down with one to read a bit to see if she liked it. They left with 3 books. One for Emily and 2 for Bella.  
"So did you have a good day?" Emily asked Bella as they drove out of the parking lot.  
"Yeah. It was really fun mom" Bella smiled.  
"Henry is in love with you, you know" Emily smiled.  
"Yeah" Bella laughed. "He's adorable"  
"He is." Emily agreed. "So I'm going tp stop at Walmart to grab some frozen lasagna for dinner, okay?"  
"Sure" Bella said and they headed to Walmart. They bought what they needed and headed home. Both went straight to the shower.

After getting ready they watched some tv and just hung out. Later at night they had the lasagna which both liked, even though Isabella left a bit on her plate. After dinner they watched a movie and then went to bed. Emily went to tuck Bella in. Which even though she liked it, Isabella always thought it was weird because her dad had stopped doing that a long time ago.  
"Anything go get me, okay?" Emily said kissing Bella's forehead. The girl nodded yes and Emily left.

Isabella just laid there thinking about everything. She liked the fact that she had a little buddy to hang out and just make her laugh. She always loved little kids and Henry was simply adorable and funny. She liked to spend time with her mother and her team. She was happy Penelope would be there but she was also scared her mother wouldn't.

In the other room Emily was also going over everything in her head. She was glad she could trust her team and she knew Penelope would take good care of Isabella. It took a while for them to sleep but they did eventually and it was a peaceful night.

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 **(** **Sunday)**

Isabella woke up and grabbed one of the books she got the day before at the library. She just sat there on her bed reading it.

Emily woke up a couple of minutes after Bella, she checked the time and grabbed the book she picked up. She just read for a while and then got up to wake up Bella. When she got to Isabella's bedroom she laughed at the scene of her daughter doing the exact same thing she was doing a couple seconds before.  
"What are you laughing about?" Bella asked smiling.  
"Nothing." Emily smiled. "Let's have some breakfast" she said.  
"Okay" Bella said. She put the book down and got up, ran to her mom and hugged her. "Good morning mom" she said softly hugging Emily.  
"Good morning baby" Emily said running her hands on Isabella's back.  
"Let's go" Bella said letting go of the hug and they went downstairs. They had some cereal.  
"Do you wanna watch a movie now?" Isabella said putting her half full bowl on the sink. Emily pretended she didn't see that.  
"Sure. I pick" Emily said running to the DVDs. Isabella followed her and sat on the couch. Emily chose 'The Others' and sat down next to Bella. 15 minutes into the film Bella went in close to Emily and hugged her.

"this is creepy mom" Bella said.

"do you want to change it?" Emily asked.

"no. its okay" Bella said smiling. The movie was in fact a little creepy but she wasn't scared.

hey just stayed hugging like that till the movie was over. Isabella was thinking how Monday would go with her at a new school and her mom at work. She felt sick just thinking about it.

When the movie was over Isabella went upstairs to read. Later on Emily called for lunch and she went down to eat.  
"So since you didn't eat all your breakfast the rule here is no leftovers at lunch time, alright?" Emily said serious handing Bella her plate already made by Emily.  
"Sure" bella said a little irritated about it and sat down. She just wasn't feeling like eating.  
They ate and barely talked at lunch. Isabella ate everything on her plate but she felt like she was about to throw up all the time. After she finished she said "I'm gonna take a shower, okay?"  
"Alright" Emily agreed. Isabella headed up and Emily cleaned the table. Emily could see she was upset and she felt bad too but the kid needed food.

30 minutes later Isabella went back downstairs wearing black legging, a plaid blue and grey blouse and white chucks . She had her hair wet and down and she was holding a book in her hands.  
"Mom?" She called at the bottom of the stairs. Emily looked at her surprised with the clothes. "Can I go read by the pool?" Isabella asked. They had a pool at the building on the last floor, also a party area, a game room and a gym.  
"Sure" Emily said excited with the fact that Bella wanted to get out of the house a little. "But be safe" Emily said. She knew the building was safe but she just wanted to make sure Bella knew she had to be careful while out alone.  
"I will" Isabella assured Emily and then she went out.

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When she got up at the "family area", what it was called, she saw they were having a party. "Oh great" she thought sarcastically in her head. Her idea of a sunny and calm day of reading was ruined. She thought about going back down to the apartment but she noticed there were a couple of tables by the pool, more on the back, that were not occupied so she decided to sit there. She walked there embarrassed and not looking at anyone. She sat and began reading.

About 20 minutes in a lady came over to her. She looked about 40 something, had a pretty long and very blond hair, blue eyes and was wearing a super flowery dress.  
"Hi" the lady said. "You just moved in, right?" the woman said but bella just stared not knowing exactly what to do. "Well… My name is Hilary Moore. My daughter Millie is turning 6" she said and Bella smiled. "Would you like to join us?" She asked with a big warm smile. Isabella smiled back embarrassed not really knowing what to say. She didn't know anyone there and it just felt weird.  
"Well I have another daughter. She's older. Do you mind me asking how old you are?" Hilary said.  
"I'm 10" Bella said.  
"Oh perfect. My daughter Chloe turned 11 three weeks ago" Hilary said. "She's inside with her best friend called iPhone and you two could maybe talk a bit" she said and Bella smiled shyly.  
"I don't know" Bella said.  
"Silly me! I didn't even ask you your name" Hilary laughed.  
"It's Bella" she said and they lady smiled "well it's actually Isabella" she corrected herself.  
"That's a pretty name." Hilary said. "Come on Bella it's gonna be fun. I've seen you a couple of times with your mom, right? You live on the floor above us I think. You can go get your mom if you want" Hilary said.  
"Well I don't know if children's parties are my mom's thing" Bella smiled.  
"Let me introduce you to Chloe. Come on" Hilary said grabbing Bella's hand and pulling her. She followed the lady. She was really embarrassed. Everyone seemed nice but she just really wanted to sit down and read her book.  
Hilary pulled Bella through the tables in the party room till she got to one in the corner where a young girl was sitting with an iPhone in front of her. She was reading something on it. She had long blonde hair like her mother's but darker, also had blue eyes, her clothes though we're nothing like her mother's. She had jeans on and a 'American Authors' t-shirt, and had the exact same chucks as Bella.  
"So this is Chloe" Hilary said stopping by the table. "Chloe this is Bella. She lives in the building too."  
Chloe smiled and said "hi"  
"Well she was reading outside and I thought you two could make each other company" Hilary said "so yeah" she said smiling and walked away leaving Bella standing there not knowing exactly what to do.  
"sit down" Chloe said. Isabella sat and placed her book down on the table.  
"Nice shirt" Isabella said embarrassed. Chloe said "thanks" then she stared at the book.  
"Sense and Sensibility" Chloe read. "So you like Jane Austen?"  
"I guess. I only read Pride and Prejudice before this one but I think I like her style" Isabella said sounding nerdier then she wanted to. At that moment she just thought "great I suck at making friends" but for her surprise Chloe said:  
"I read Emma first. It's really good. Then I read Pride and Prejudice but I saw the movie first so it kinda ruined it but I liked it. The other day I went to Barnes and noble and almost bought that one but I wasn't sure if I would like it so I bought something else"  
"So you like reading?" Isabella asked. She had never met anyone around her age that liked reading like her. The kids she knew always read "silly" children's books.  
"Yeah. I was reading 'The Fault In Our Stars' right now" Chloe said.  
"That's a good book" Isabella smiled. She was so relieved that Chloe liked reading too.  
They talked a bit more about some books they liked, about the party and the food and then about their mothers. Isabella found out that Hilary had been divorced for 3 years and the ex-husband lived in Australia. She was surprised to found that Hilary was American and the girls were Australians and that they moved to America 2 years after the divorce. Bella didn't tell Chloe what happened to her dad. She just said she had moved in with her mother and that was it.

They ate some food and went to the game room to play some games. Isabella actually did have fun. Chloe introduced Bella to her sister Millie, who loved Bella's dark hair since pretty much everyone in her family was blonde, and then they went back to the table. Hilary just watched from afar happy that her daughter was making friends. The truth was that Chloe was very closed up, just like Bella. Chloe had always been a shy kid and was never really good at making friends. Back in Australia she had 3 best friends who she grew up with and she was heartbroken to leave them. Hilary felt really bad but she had to take the job she was offered in DC in order to start a good new life with her kids. She saw little Bella by herself quietly traveling with a book on her hands and she could see her daughter in Bella so she went for it and apparently they were a lot alike.  
The party went on till 5.

Around 4 Emily started to get a little worried so she texted Bella who said everything was fine, but didn't mention the party. They sang happy birthday and then Bella turned to Chloe and said:  
"Well I think I should go. My mom is probably worried"  
"Alright" Chloe said slightly embarrassed. "Well let me know if the book's good"  
"Okay" Bella smiled.  
"If it's good I might get it" Chloe said and Bella smiled. "Come on take some cake to your mom" Chloe said grabbing Bella's hand and walking towards her mother.  
"Mom, Bella's going home" she said.  
"Already?" Hilary asked.  
"Yeah I have to" Bella said embarrassed.  
"Alright let me cut you some cake" Hilary said cutting a big piece and putting on a plate. "Make sure you give your mom some, okay?" She said. "And I would love to meet her sometime"  
"Sure. I'm sure she'd like that too" Isabella said taking the plate. "So I see you sometime?" Bella said.  
"Yeah" Chloe said and they awkwardly hugged. Hilary laughed.  
"Well we're in 206. Feel free to stop by anytime" Hilary said giving Bella a hug.  
"Okay. Thank you. Bye" Bella said shyly and headed out. She felt weird about everything that happened but she actually liked them. She thought Chloe was really nice and seemed to like a lot of things that Bella liked. At the elevator she got nervous all the sudden when the thought of making friends at the new school came into her head.

But she smiled at the thought that she maybe already had made a friend in DC and that was sounding good for her.


	24. Chapter 24: Monday Came Too Soon

…She headed to the apartment, grabbed her keys and opened the door.

Emily was sitting on the couch and headed to the kitchen when she heard Bella coming in. Bella placed the plate on the counter and poured herself some water.  
"Cake? Where did you get cake?" Emily asked curious.  
"There was a birthday party there" Isabella said.  
"And they invented you in?" Emily asked.  
"Yeah. A lady came and asked me to join them. Of course I said no but I guess she felt bad cause I was there sitting by myself reading so she kept insisting. She said it was her daughter's birthday and all and she asked how old I was. When I told her she said she had an 11 year-old daughter too and she was inside doing nothing so maybe I could hang out with her for a while and then I said sure"  
"Who's this lady?" Emily asked concern.  
"She lives in the floor below us. 206"  
"And...?" Emily said requesting more Information.  
"Her name is Hilary. She's a single mom and she has two daughters. Millie who will be 6 tomorrow and Chloe who is my age. Well she's 11" Isabella said.  
"So you just went in?" Emily asked confused. "Didn't I tell you to be safe?" She asked serious.  
"Yes. And I was" Isabella said confused.  
"Bella, you can't just go out alone and start talking to strangers everywhere" Emily said.  
"Mom I'm new here. The place was full of people and how am I supposed to make friends if I don't talk to strangers" Isabella pointed.  
"Oh you" Emily said walking to Bella and hugging her. "Just be careful"  
"I know mom" Bella said with a sweet smile.  
"And how was it?" Emily asked smiling. She knew Bella had a point but it was just her FBI brain taking over her mom brain.  
"It was quite good actually. They were all really nice and Chloe sort of likes the same stuff I do and everything." Bella smiled getting two forks.  
"So I see you made a new friend" Emily smiled proudly.  
"I guess so" Bella smiled handing over a fork to Emily. "You should eat this is really good. And it's a Barbie cake too" she smiled.  
Emily smiled and sat, grabbed the fork and tried a piece.  
"I can feel the pink" Emily said making Bella laugh.  
"Believe me it was everywhere" Bella said laughing.

They finished the cake and then went to watch some tv. They talked a bit more about the party and Emily couldn't help but smile at the sight of her daughter smiling telling her about her new friend. Isabella also said that Hilary wanted to meet Emily and Emily said she would love to.  
"I told her you would" Bella smiled.  
They talked a bit more and then Emily reminded Bella to go get her school clothes ready for the next day and check to see if she had everything she needed on her bag. Emily could see Isabella got tense when she mentioned school but she chose not to ask why. She knew it could probably just make it worse for Bella to go.

So Bella went upstairs to do what she was told. She got her clothes out the wardrobe, folded it and placed it on her desk. She checked her bag and everything was in there, so she decided to shower. She didn't take long and went out to find Emily sitting on her bed.  
"Pajamas already?" Emily asked and Bella didn't say anything but she smiled. "Well, dinner's ready" Emily said. Isabella placed her dirty clothes on the bed and hugged her mom.  
"Are you alright?" Emily asked concern about the unexpected hug.  
"Yes" Bella said letting go of Emily.  
"are you sure?" Emily asked still confused.  
"Yeah. I just wanted to hug you" Bella smiled. Emily smiled at her and pulled her into a hug again.  
"Let's go eat" Bella said letting go of the hug. Emily stood up and they headed downstairs.

They ate tacos for dinner and then sat to watch some tv. Emily could see Bella seemed to be getting more and more nervous as the night passed so she asked if she wanted to play some chess. After the game Emily said "we should go to bed honey. We wake up early tomorrow". Isabella smiled and said "sure". They went up and Emily tucked Bella in, choosing not to mention the young girl's nervousness, and then left the girl's bedroom.

It wasn't long till Bella walked into Emily's bedroom.  
"Mom?" She called.  
"Is everything okay?" Emily asked sitting on the bed.  
"Can I sleep here? Just tonight." Isabella asked shyly.  
"Sure. Come on" Emily said pushing the covers away so Bella could lay underneath it. Bella went in and hugged Emily. She had her blanket on her hand but left the stuffed animal on her bedroom.  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Emily asked still hugging Bella.  
"Yeah." Bella said letting go of the hug.

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**  
 **(** **Monday)  
**  
Isabella struggled to fall asleep that night, lying next to Emily, trying not to move, willing her mind to shut off so she could get some rest. This seemed like an impossible task however as Bella continued to think about the next day, forcing herself to keep the tears at bay, not wanting to wake her mother. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning when exhaustion finally took over that Bella drifted to sleep, turning over and grabbing a handful of Emily's shirt in her slumber. This peaceful sleep lasted only 2 hours before Isabella's dreams were once again plagued with dark images. It was just after 6am when Isabella bolted awake with a scream, waking Emily with a fright as she watched the girl jump up from the bed, running into the bathroom, the sound of Bella emptying her stomach filled the room. As soon as Emily registered what had woken her she rushed into the bathroom, finding Isabella on the floor heaving into the toilet. Emily immediately bent down behind her, pulling dark hair back, rubbing soothing circles on the child's back.  
"Shhh…it's okay," Emily reassured as Isabella cried, fighting to control her emotions after the nightmare that had seemed so real.

It was a few more minutes before Bella pulled away from the toilet, leaning back on Emily's legs as she got her breathing under control.  
"Are you okay?" Emily asked quietly, feeling Isabella's body still shaking against her legs.  
"I…I think so," Isabella replied, turning around to face Emily. "Sorry."  
"Don't apologize," Emily replied, brushing some hair away from Bella's face. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
"It was just a nightmare," Bella replied quickly. "It…it just felt so…so real."  
"I know," Emily replied, rubbing her hand up and down the smaller girl's arm.  
"Would it be okay if I showered?"  
"Of course," Emily answered, standing up and reaching out to help Bella up from the floor. "Do you want me to stay?" She asked.

"no. it's okay" Bella said.

"anything I'm right outside" Emily said and Bella nodded.

Emily went out closing the door behind her and moving to go sit on her bed, putting her head in her hands. She stayed there for a moment. When she heard the shower on she grabbed her phone and called JJ. She didn't care what time it was she just had to talk to somebody and she figured JJ would be awake getting ready for work already.  
"Hello?" Came JJ's voice on the phone.  
"Hi" Emily said sounding really down.  
"What happened?" JJ asked worried.  
"It's Bella. She's been having these nightmares and when it seems like things will get better it's like she gets knocked down all over again. I just..." Emily said unable to finish. She could feel her eyes burning. She also couldn't believe she was calling JJ for help. She never thought she'd ever do that.  
"Are you okay?" JJ asked, feeling like she could guess the answer.  
"I just don't know what to do to help her," Emily replied feeling helpless.  
"I think you're doing it Em," JJ comforted. "She's been through a lot, she's going to have nightmares….you just need to keep being there for her."  
"I'm…I'm just worried," Emily admitted.  
"About what?" JJ asked slightly confused.  
"Everything." Emily replied. "I don't know how to do this JJ. What if I mess this up?"  
"Em, you won't" JJ replied confidently. "I can see how much you love her and care about her. She's your baby. You just need to take it a day at a time…trust me you're going to be just fine. Plus we're all going to be here for you, you know that right?"  
"I know," Emily replied. "I'm just not used to feeling this scared." She said not believing she was letting those words out.  
"Well eventually we were bound to find something that scared big, bad Emily Prentiss," JJ replied.  
"Ha ha," Emily replied sarcastically, a big smile on her face. "Thanks JJ."  
"Anytime," JJ responded. "I talked to Hotch and I'm out of the field this week too. I'm going to stay here and I can help you guys out for a few days," she explained.  
"You don't have to do that," Emily said.  
"I know," JJ answered with a smile, "but I want to."  
"Thank you" Emily said.  
"Well anytime. And I see you in a little while" JJ said.  
"Alright. See you soon" Emily replied and hung up. She went to her closet to pick her clothes while Bella was still in the shower.  
15 minutes later Isabella came out of the bathroom.  
"Feel better?" Emily asked as Isabella came out not looking as pale as she had been before, but looking like she had spent some time crying.  
"Yeah," Bella replied quietly. "Thanks."  
"I'm going to shower then," Emily announced.  
Emily entered the bathroom while Bella headed to her bedroom to get ready. Emily took a shower and thought about everything. She knew the kid was hurt. Everything was so recent and she knew she couldn't expect Bella to just move on like nothing ever happened. She knew the kid was grieving.

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**

Isabella just sat on her bed wrapped in a towel for a while thinking that there was no way she could go to school. Not after what she saw on that horrible dream. The thoughts of her mother getting hurt wouldn't leave her head. She fought to push those thoughts away. She got up and got dressed for school. She couldn't help but also feel awful about the way she woke up her mother.

Isabella finished getting dressed, sat on the vanity and Emily appeared at the door already finished. She went inside and started folding Isabella's pajamas that were laying on the bed. She got Bella's laptop off the floor keeping one eye on Isabella who looked pretty down.

Bella began fishing through her backpack looking for something at the bottom of the bag. When she found it she threw the bag on the floor and faced herself in the mirror with her brush and an elastic in her hand.

Emily sat on the bed and watched as Bella began to separate her hair into three parts, attempting to braid it. She was having a hard time though as her hands were shaking, and she couldn't seem to get it right with the short hair. Seeing the young girl beginning to get frustrated Emily stood up, moving to stand behind Bella, meeting her gaze in the mirror.  
"Do you want some help with that?" Emily asked softly.

Isabella simply nodded in response, looking like she wanted to cry.

Emily immediately began to separate her hair and pulled the pieces into a braid. Emily could see Isabella's eyes shining with tears.  
"You have such gorgeous hair," Emily said, her heart breaking at the sadness in her daughter's eyes.

The two remained silent as Emily continued to braid Bella's hair, securing it with an elastic at the end. Isabella remained where she was as Emily finished, looking sadly at the floor.  
"You know if you want to talk, I'm always here to listen," Emily told the little brunette.  
"I…I just don't know if I can do this," Bella replied, shaking her head as a tear escaped down her cheek. Emily hugged Bella from behind.  
"Oh honey I know you can" Emily assured the girl.  
"I can't mom" Bella cried.

Emily let go of the hug and grabbed Bella's hand pulling the crying child towards the bed. Emily sat down and sat Bella on her lap.  
"I know you can do it baby." Emily said and Bella just cried. "I know it's scary. Everything is new but you can do it. You ARE doing it. You were so happy yesterday about your new friend honey" Emily said.

They hugged for a while and suddenly Bella stood up. She wiped her face and grabbed her coat. She knew she had to toughen up. She knew her mother was going to work no matter what and she knew she had to face everything, she knew all of that but she just didn't want any of it to happen. She tried hard to control herself.

They went to have breakfast. She barely ate any cereal, and then they headed out.

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The car ride was quiet. Isabella's head was going crazy with a hundred million thoughts.

All Emily was thinking was that Bella wouldn't go inside the school.  
When they got to the school Emily parked the car in case she had to go in with Bella.

Isabella unbuckled but didn't move an inch. She just sat there quietly.

Emily put her hand over Bella's and said "you can do this honey"  
And Isabella shoved her head on Emily's lap and sobbed.  
"Oh honey" Emily said heartbroken. She started running her hand on Isabella's back trying her hardest to calm the child. Isabella just cried for a while. She tried hard to calm herself down but she didn't want to go in there. She was just really scared.  
"Mom I wanna go home" she cried.  
"Honey you have to go school" Emily said with tears in her eyes at the sight of her 10 year-old sobbing because of something so simple.  
"I can't" she sobbed. "I wanna go home"  
"Honey I have to go work. There's not gonna be anyone home and you liked the school remember?" Emily said pushing the tears that was forming in her eyes away, trying to convince Bella. She felt like she didn't know what to do.  
"I don't want to go. I wanna go home" Bella cried. Emily's heart sank seeing Bella act like a little kid scared on the first day of school.  
"You have to go to work with me then. We are not going home" Emily said sounding serious. She wouldn't miss work, she felt like if she did Isabella would want to stay home the entire week and she had to show Bella that wouldn't happen. "Okay?" She asked and Bella didn't say anything.  
"You can stay with Penelope while I work" Emily said. "Okay?" she asked softly again running her hand on Bella's arm.  
"Okay" the young girl whispered still crying.  
"Now sit up and put your seatbelt on so I can drive" Emily said. Isabella did what she was told without saying a word. Emily gave Bella's hand a squeeze and began to drive.

The drive was quiet. When they got to the BAU Penelope was just out of the elevator and walked to them.  
"Hi" she said a bit confused with Bella being there in uniforms.  
"Good morning. I've got your friend here. Apparently she rather hang out with her aunt then go to school so.." Emily said smiling. Isabella was really embarrassed. She had her uniform on and she knew people would stare at her and she hated it.  
"Well I am indeed very happy to have company today" Penelope said giving Bella a hug and then taking her hand. Emily kissed her head and said with a warm smile "be good. And anything I'm going to be on my desk" and then she walked to her desk and Penelope headed with Bella to her lair.  
"Shouldn't she be at school?" David asked.  
"She should but she just wouldn't get out of the car so..." Emily said.  
"First days can be hard" JJ said.  
"Yeah. She was sobbing about it so I'd rather just have her here today" Emily admitted.  
"You should let her stay here with you today. So she could see the boring and calm part of our work. Maybe that will help" David said.  
"Yeah he's right. She could see that you'll be okay when she's at school" JJ said and Emily stood up.  
"I'm gonna go get her" she said serious. She knew her friends were right. She knew Bella was scared of her going back to work and perhaps seeing what she does could really help. She walked into Penelope's office to find Penelope on her desk and Isabella sitting on the couch reading a book.  
"Hey" she said and Bella and Penelope looked up at her. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me at my desk today?" She asked Bella who looked embarrassed and managed to give her mother a small smile.  
"Come on" Emily smiled and handed out a hand for Bella to hold. The kid stood up, grabbed her bag and walked to her mother.  
"You better come see me later little tiny" Penelope said smiling.  
"I will" Bella said shyly. She smiled and they headed out. Isabella was embarrassed because she knew the team would talk about her not going to school but all she wanted was her mom so she went.  
"Hey," JJ smiled as Emily and Bella walked in. "How was your weekend?"

"Good," Bella said embarrassed while Emily had her arm around her. "How about yours?" she asked avoiding eye contact.

"Surprisingly relaxing," JJ replied. "We should do more picnics. That was really fun. The only thing though, Henry won't shut up about you now" she said smiling and Bella smiled and looked at her. "Well I've gotta go over some potential cases," JJ said, heading towards her office. "I'll see you two in a bit."

Emily set Isabella's bag down on her desk as David pulled a chair over next to Emily's for Bella. Bella gave him a small smiled as a way of saying thank you and sat down. She opened her book and began reading embarrassed to actually talk to the people.

"That should take you what, an hour?" Emily teased. Isabella managed a small smile and stared back at her book. Emily knew Bella was strong, she just wished she could make all of her pain and anxiety disappear.

"Hey you two," Derek grinned, arriving at work. It didn't take long for him to notice the uniform on the child and realize the first day didn't go as planned.

"Hey," Emily and Bella reply in unison.

"You look pretty happy," Emily observes. "Somebody had a date this weekend?"

"Maybe," Derek grinned and took off his jacket and draping it over his chair. 

"never date" Emily told Bella and kissed the top of her head as Reid arrived.

"Hey, Bella, what are doing here?" He asked. Everybody was trying not to bring it up and there he went.  
"She's hanging out with me today" Emily said noticing Isabella wasn't going to answer.  
"She's missing school?" He asked and Derek couldn't help but laugh.  
"She is" Emily said giving him a look as of telling him to shut up about it. He finally got the message and said "Oh" and put down his stuff and dig through his bag. "I got you something." Reid pulled a worn copy of a book out of his bag and handed it to Bella.

"your mom said you liked Austen" he said, sitting in his chair.

"Thanks Spencer," Bella said opening the book and ignoring the other one in front of her.  
Emily was just extremely grateful to have her team. They've been nothing but supportive and loving towards her and specially Bella since they found out.

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The day went out alright. Nothing big happened at the office just paperwork which Emily was really happy about. The school's principal called to see why Isabella didn't go and Emily told him that the girl wasn't feeling very well but said she would go the next day. Isabella read a couple chapters of the book Spencer got her and then picked the one she was reading before so she could finish. When she was done she headed to Penelope's office just to say hi and then went back to her mom's desk. They had food delivered to the office and while the team spent the afternoon working there Bella just read, played on her phone and texted people. Around 5, everyone decided to leave. They said their goodbyes and JJ said to Bella "so I see you tomorrow after school?"  
Isabella gave a little smile and said "yes". And they left.

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On the ride home Isabella thought about the day and she could see that her mom would be alright. The thought of being away still scared her but she realized it wasn't going to be so so so bad when Emily went to the office.

.  
At home she took a shower while Emily ordered dinner. When she walked out of the bathroom she had pajamas on and she found Emily waiting for her.  
"Hey. Sit down here we need to talk" Emily said tapping her hand on the bed next to her. Isabella sat down.  
"I know you are scared about school but I -" Emily started but was cut off by Bella.  
"I'll go in tomorrow don't worry" She said serious.  
"That's not what I'm worried about" Emily said. "I don't want you so terrified about something like school honey"  
"I don't know why I panicked mom. I just did. It won't happen again don't worry" Isabella said giving Emily a small smile at the end.  
"Alright" Emily smiled. "But anything you can call me okay?" She asked.  
"And you'll pick me up?" Bella asked serious wanting to make sure that in case something happened she would have a way out.  
"I will" Emily said and the doorbell rang.  
"The food is here" Isabella said getting up.  
Emily managed to pull her into a hug.  
"I love you" she said.  
"I love you too mom" Bella smiled. Emily kissed her cheek and they went downstairs.

They ate, then watched tv and then around 9 Bella went to bed. Emily tucked her in and it wasn't long till she was asleep. Emily went back to the living room to watch tv and it was almost midnight when she headed to her bedroom to find Isabella fast asleep there. She figured the kid was still scared. She laid next to her quietly but Bella opened her eyes.  
"Go back to sleep baby it's late" Emily whispered taking Bella's hair off her face.  
"Mommy?" Bella whispered.  
"Yes honey?"

"can I sleep here?" Bella asked.

"of course you can" Emily said and gave Bella a kiss on the forehead.

"mommy?" Bella said again.  
"You'll pick me anything right?" Bella asked. Emily could see the tears forming.  
"I promise" she whispered and kissed Bella's forehead again. "Now go back to sleep" she said and Isabella closed her eyes.

It wasn't long till both were out.


	25. Chapter 25: Chaos

**Just did some corrections in this chapter. I had to change Chloe and Bella's new friend name to Gavin. He used to be called Johnny but i ended up not really liking it because it reminded me of her father and i wasn't going for that so i decided to change. He's** Gavin **now**

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 **(** **Tuesday)  
**  
Emily woke up and felt Bella's tight grip on her shirt. She checked the time, it was almost 6:30, the time she had scheduled the alarm clock. Isabella's school started at 7:40 so they had about an hour to get ready and Emily had to be at work by 10. She woke Isabella up.  
"Hi" she said as bella opened her eyes.  
"Hi" Bella whispered letting go of Emily's shirt. Emily hugged her and said "you gotta get ready. Come on" she ran her hand on Bella's back slightly pulling her up still hugging her. Isabella sat on the bed and tightened the hug.  
"Good morning" isabella said.  
"Good morning to you too" Emily said letting go of the hug. "Come on let's go" she said and they got up. They showered, got dressed and went downstairs. Emily was drinking coffee when Bella got to the bottom of the stairs.  
"I made you some orange juice" Emily said.

Isabella walked to the island and drank the juice and then poured a little bit of cereal. After they ate they brushed their teeth and walked out the door.

Isabella kept telling herself on her mind that everything was going to be alright, and that her mom would be okay and all of that. They walked in the elevator and Bella held Emily's hand. The elevator stopped at the floor below them and for Isabella's surprise Hilary and Millie were the ones waiting for it.

"Bella" Millie said running and hugging Bella. Isabella was surprised and just smiled at Hilary who was smiling at her.  
"Hi" Millie said to Emily.  
"Hi" Emily said smiling.  
"Unm so Hilary this is my mom, Emily" Isabella said and Hilary shook Emily's hand.  
"Nice to meet you Emily" Hilary said.  
"Nice to meet you too" Emily said. She noticed they seemed very nice people.  
"Where's Chloe?" Bella asked.  
"Oh she's coming down in a minute. She's not really a morning person" Hilary said making a face. They all smiled.  
"Well Chloe didn't mention you at school yesterday. I thought you two were in the same year" Hilary said noticing Isabella's uniform.  
"She goes to my school?" Bella asked surprised.  
"Yeah." Hilary said.  
"Did she get a case of the first day sickness?" Hilary asked Emily smiling.  
"Yeah I could say that" Emily said as Bella's cheeks went red.  
"Don't be embarrassed. It happens to all of us" Hilary said as the doors opened to the parking garage. They walked out.  
"Well I could give you a ride if you'd like" Hilary said. Isabella looked like she didn't knew what to say. She wanted to go with her mother but didn't want to hurt Hilary's feelings. Emily realized Bella was embarrassed so she said:  
"Oh it's okay. The school is on my way to work"  
"Alright. But anytime you need a ride I'm happy to" Hilary said.  
"I can take your girls today if you want." Emily said making a face sort of letting Hilary know it might help Bella.  
"Well I'll actually take that. I could use some more sleep today. My work starts at 9." Hilary said smiling and Emily smiled back.  
"Millie do you mind riding with Miss Emily and Bella to school today?" Hilary asked her 6 year old.  
"Really?" The girl asked excited and grabbed Bella's hand. "Cool" she said smiling. Everyone smiled at the adorable reaction.

Suddenly Chloe appeared.  
"Oh Hi" she said noticing Bella and Emily.  
"Chlo you're riding with them today okay?" Hilary said.  
"Okay" Chloe said embarrassed.

Emily smile as she noticed a lot of her daughter on the blonde girl. She knew that Bella would have done the same thing.  
"Just make sure you take Millie to her class alright?" Hilary said giving Chloe a hug.  
"Alright" Chloe said.  
"So let's go" Emily said and everyone smiled.  
"Well I can bring Bella back with us if you want" Hilary told.  
"She's staying at my work after school so it's alright I can pick her up" Emily said.  
"Oh the BAU is not far I can drop her there" Hilary said. Isabella had told Chloe where Emily worked.  
"Would that be alright Bella?" Emily asked to make sure.  
"Yeah" Bella said shyly.  
"Alright then. I'll pick you guys up 3:30 on the dot" Hilary said.  
"Bye mom" Chloe said giving Hilary a hug and then Millie gave her a hug too.  
"Bye" Bella said and they walked to the car.  
Isabella sat on the front and the 2 girls jumped on the back.  
"Your car is really big Miss Emi" Millie said and everyone laughed.  
"It's Emily, Millie" Chloe called.  
"Oh that's alright honey" Emily smiled.

Everyone buckled up and waved goodbye to Hilary. The drive was quiet. Isabella was embarrassed and Chloe too so no one really said anything. Emily parked the car and she could feel Isabella was tense.  
"So Hilary will pick you up" Emily said. "3:30 on the dot don't forget" Emily said as she parked the car, smiling to Bella. Isabella took a deep breath and hugged Emily.  
"Anything just call" Emily said.  
"And you'll pick me up?" Isabella whispered as Chloe opened the door.  
"Yes" Emily said serious letting go of the hug.  
"You three have a nice day" Emily said to the girls as Bella walked out of the car.  
"Thank you for the ride Miss Emily" Chloe said. Emily rolled her window down.  
"Just Emily is fine honey" Emily said smiling.  
"Alright. Bye Emily" Chloe said with a sweet smile taking Millie's hand.  
"You be good, okay?" Emily told Bella as she got close to the car window to give Emily a kiss. Isabella nodded yes. "And be safe" she added.  
"You too mom" Isabella said and went to kiss her mother goodbye.  
"Bye girls" Emily said as the three girls walked away. Isabella just followed Chloe. Emily stayed there till they went inside. Right before Bella walked in she looked back to check if Emily was still there and she smiled when she saw the car parked and her mother smiling back.  
"Bella, I have to take Millie and you need to see the principal. It's a first day thing. If you don't go now they'll take you off class later" Chloe said as they walked to the main hall.  
"Alright." Bella agreed.  
"He'll tell you where the classroom is" Chloe said noticing Bella's eyes wondering around.  
"Okay. So I'll see you there?" Bella asked.  
"Sure" Chloe said smiling. She felt for the first time in a long time that she had a friend. She just hoped Bella felt the same way about her.

Isabella walked to the principal's office. Emily had told him that isabella was feeling sick the day before that's why she didn't go so he asked her if she was better. They talked a little about the classes she would take and the school rules and things like that. He gave her all her text books and told her where her classroom was and also that she should look for him if she had any questions and she walked out. She found her locker and put her books in only keeping English and geometry because it was her classes before the first break. She was walking through the hallway almost at her classroom door when four girls approached.  
"You must be the new kid" one of them said with attitude.  
Isabella just nodded.  
"Did someone bite your tongue off?" The other one asked.  
"No" isabella said feeling her face hot.  
"Calm down shrimpy were just talking here "one of the girls said and there was little pause. This girl looked older than the others.

Isabella thought they were done talking so she took a step and one girl grabbed her by the shoulder.  
"Wait up" she said. Isabella looked serious.  
"What did you do to get in? Did your parents gave them money?" One of the girls asked.  
"Did your father threaten the principal?" The other said. Isabella just stood there not saying a word.  
"Oh I know" the oldest said. "Did your mommy sleep with him?"  
When the girl said that Isabella just walked pushing two of the girls out of the way. She could hear them laughing and she could feel her eyes burning. She just wanted to disappear. She couldn't believe that was happening.  
She walked into the classroom, looked around for Chloe but she didn't see her so she went and took a seat on the front. The seats weren't assigned and she didn't like sitting on the back because when the attention was on her everyone always turned around to stare and on the front she couldn't see anyone's faces. She grabbed her English text book and began reading it to distract herself. She was so concentrated that she didn't see Chloe walking in and taking the seat next to hers.  
"Are you okay?" Chloe asked. Isabella looked up and nodded yes and went back to reading. Chloe felt bad because it seemed like Bella didn't want to talk to her or something.  
The teacher walked in and sat on his desk. He went through some papers and then stood up.  
"Everybody in?" He asked looking around the class noticing all the seats were filled. "Alright" he said. "So we have a new student today. Would you mind coming here..?" the young English teacher, Samuel Davis, said smiling and showing her where to stand.  
"sure," Isabella replied, feeling herself blush, and walking to the teacher.. She hated having to speak in front of the class.  
"Well, so tell us a little bit about yourself Isabella," Mr. Davis said.

Isabella took a deep breath. She could see those stupid girls staring at her. She stood next to the teacher and began.  
"Well, I'm 10. I was born in New York City and then moved to Seattle and now I live here" she said.

Mr. Davis could see she was embarrassed. "So where did you go to school before this?"  
"Massachusetts. It was a boarding school" she said.  
"And did you like it there?" He asked.  
"sorta." She told him not really knowing what to say

"Alright" he said giving her a little push on the back telling her to seat. "Welcome to Bristol" he said and she went to her seat.

Suddenly she felt someone giving a little tap on her shoulder so she turned around.

"hi. I'm Gavin" a brunette boy said.

"hi" bella said embarrassed.

Isabella noticed Chloe staring at her talking to Gavin. She then realized Chloe followed her to the front of the class and she didn't see her talking to anyone.  
"Unm do you and Chloe know each other?" Isabella asked.

"Kind of I guess" he said.  
"What do you mean kind of?" Bella asked thinking that He seemed nice.  
"She's not much of talker" Gavin said and Bella could see Chloe blushing. Then she realized Chloe wasn't very good at socializing. Chloe seemed a bit worse than her.  
"Well maybe we could try talking at lunch break or something?" Bella said. She couldn't believe she said that, she felt so embarrassed and she could feel she was blushing.  
"Would that be okay Chloe?" Gavin asked and Chloe nodded yes. Bella smiled at them.  
Mr. Davis, still talking, walked in front of them and placed his hand on top of Gavin 's desk; a quiet plea for them to pay attention.

The beginning of the day went on okay with Chloe, Gavin and Bella chatting from time to time. Isabella found out that was Chloe's first year at the Academy too and that kids were a bit mean to her. Gavin told them that some kids weren't very nice and they used to make fun of him because of his weight. He said his only friends were the choir and theater kids. At break both showed the school to Bella and she texted Emily letting her mom know everything was fine. She was feeling alright and happy that she was making friends. She was just glad Chloe was there because she was still really nervous.

They went back to class and it was time for Geometry. Time flew by and suddenly it was 12:40, lunch break. Isabella bought chips and coke. She wasn't hungry at all. She sat with Chloe and Gavin and they just talked about life in general. Bella told them about Seattle and about her mom and things like that, not mentioning her dad being dead. Chloe mentioned her parents' divorce and Bella was very surprised by that. They just talked a bit more and traded phone numbers. When everyone finished eating they decided to go to their lockers to get their language books. Sadly Isabella found out Gavin took Russian and not French like Chloe and her. Language classes were at different classrooms so they went.

As the two girls appeared at the hall they spot those 4 girls who bullied Isabella earlier. Chloe stopped walking and grabbed Bella's shirt.  
"You don't wanna go close to them" Chloe said looking genially concerned. Bella could see she probably got bullied by them before.  
"Is there other way to class?" Bella asked.  
"No" Chloe answered disappointed.  
If there was one thing she had learned at boarding school was to never hide from the bullies because they'll always find you and that will just make it even worse. They walked to class and just like they thought the 4 girls made them stop.  
"So I see Miss read face has met Miss speechless" one of the girls said. "I guess you two will do good together."  
Isabella and Chloe stood there without saying a word.  
"You know Isabella." one of the girls said making a face of disgust. "Did your mommy like the sex?" She asked.  
"Shut up" Isabella said. Chloe's eyes were big with surprise.  
"Oh she does talk. I thought you would really become Miss speechless number two" a girl said.  
"Well I hope your daddy never finds out about your mother and the principal okay? For the sake of the family. But it wouldn't hurt me to let him know" she said.  
Isabella could feel her eyes burning and she felt like she was going to explode. She ran off not knowing exactly where she was going. She just wanted to leave. Chloe followed her as the girls laughed at them and pointed that Bella was crying. Isabella could hear them calling her 'cry baby' and stuff like that. She ran to the bathroom and pushed the door open and locked herself in. Chloe got in and she could hear Isabella sobbing.  
"Bella?" She said. "Just don't think about it. They are just stupid girls" Chloe told and Bella just cried. The bell rang but Chloe stayed there with Bella.  
"Look don't worry about it. I'm sure your dad knows your mother would never do something like that. You got here because you're smart. They are just being mean."  
"My dad died Chloe" Bella said trying hard to control her breathing. Chloe was in shock so she just stood there quiet. There was silence for a while and Bella opened the door. Chloe was crying.  
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just-" she said and Chloe cut her off.  
"It's alright."  
"he had Cancer." Bella said with tears rolling down her face. "So I came to live with my mom"  
"I'm really sorry" Chloe said staring at Bella.  
"Why are you crying?" Isabella asked.  
"I'm not sure" Chloe said. Isabella went and hugged her.  
"Are they always like this?" Bella asked heading to the sink to wash her face.  
"Yeah" Chloe said. "You shouldn't have walked to class with me. It's my fault I'm really sorry"  
"Hey it's not your fault. They did it before when I was by myself" Bella said. She could see Chloe was surprised.  
"Are you gonna tell your mom?" Chloe asked.  
"Did you ever tell yours?" Bella asked.  
"Yeah." Chloe said.  
"Did it ever change anything?" Bella asked.  
"No" Chloe answered.  
"It never does right?" Bella said and Chloe nodded.  
"I assume this isn't the first time you got bullied was it?" Chloe asked.  
"No. Boarding school. Almost every day. I told my dad, he even talked to the principal multiple times but nothing ever really changed." Bella said.  
"That must have been hard. Especially not going home after a school day." Chloe said.  
"Yeah. It was horrible. I guess it only got a bit better when an older girl became my friend. She sort of took me under her wings" Bella said. "She's the only friend I have. Her name is Cameron. She's a senior now" Isabella said.  
"She must be really nice" Chloe said.  
"She's like my big sister"  
"You must miss her a lot"  
"Yeah" Bella said as a tear fell.  
"We should go back to class" Chloe said changing the subject.  
"I think I'll stay here for a little while" Bella said embarrassed. "You can go ahead."  
"Are you sure? I don't mind staying too" Chloe offered.  
"It's alright. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me. I know about the skipping class rule" Isabella said remembering the rule the principal mentioned earlier that day.  
"Okay. Anything just text" Chloe said.  
"Alright" Bella said and Chloe left. Isabella went back inside, locked the door and just sobbed. She couldn't control it. She just wanted to go home, she wanted her mom. She just wanted to leave. She stayed there for a while crying and then she walked out and headed out of the school. A couple kids walked by her but she did her best to hide her face and she walked out the school main entrance. She was lucky nobody saw. She noticed a bench at the side of the big stairs and sat on it. She just cried. She wanted to just run away from there. She was trying her hardest not to call her mom but she couldn't help it, she just wanted her mom. She got her phone and texted Chloe 'I'm gonna call my mom to pick me up right now. I'm not feeling very good, okay? Please tell your mom I was sick and my mom picked me up. Xo- B' and then she called Emily.

 **CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM  
** Emily was sitting on her desk doing some paper work when her phone rang. She spent the morning hoping her phone wouldn't ring with Bella written on the screen. After she had lunch she felt like maybe everything was going great for the girl.  
She picked up and said "oh no it's Bella". Derek who was close to her gave her a pat on the back.  
"She probably just wants to check on you" he said and she answered the phone.  
"Mom?" Bella cried before Emily could even say hello.  
"Honey, what happened?" Emily asked worried.  
"Can you come pick me up?" Bella cried.  
"sweetie what happened?" Emily asked broken with the sound of Isabella's sobs.  
"Just come here please. I wanna go home. Just come get me" Bella cried. "Please just come"  
"Alright I'm coming. I'll be right there okay?" Emily said already grabbing her keys and walking away. Derek followed her. JJ and Spencer looked confused not knowing exactly what was going on. As Emily walked out the door Derek saw Hotch approaching.  
"Hotch!" He called and Aaron stared at him. "Prentiss and I are going to get Bella alright? We'll be right back" he said and Hotch nodded yes.  
"Is everything okay?" David asked.  
"I'm not sure" Derek said and ran as the elevator's door opened.

They walked to the car as fast as they could. Derek drove and Emily texted Bella saying she was on her way and for Bella to wait for her in the hallway. Bella was sitting outside the school building close to the playground and she would not go inside again. She hugged her legs and laid her face in them. She just wanted to disappear.  
It wasn't long till the SUV parked and Emily got out followed by Derek. They walked to the school and Emily noticed the girl on the bench.  
"Bella?" She called getting closer. Isabella looked up and ran to her mom. She hugged Emily as the tears fell. Emily picked her up.  
"Honey, what happened?" Emily asked.  
"I wanna go home" Bella said. Emily put her down and sat on the bench. She pulled Bella to her lap.  
"What happened?" She asked and Derek sat beside them.  
"I hated it here. I want to go back home. I want Cameron" Bella cried and hugged Emily. Isabella knew if Cameron was there she would be okay. Cameron had a way of getting the words those bullies said out of Bella's head. She just knew how to.  
"Bella where's Chloe?" Emily asked.  
"She's in class" Bella answered trying to control her breathing.  
"She didn't hang out with you?" Emily asked.  
"She did but I told her to go. I didn't want her to miss class because of me" Bella said.  
"But what happened? You texted me saying everything was okay and now this." Emily said.  
"There were these girls mom... I just wanna go home"  
"Did you get bullied?" Derek asked and Bella nodded yes.  
"Please I just want to go home" Bella cried and stood up. "Just take me home" she demanded.  
Emily kneed down in front of the girl and grabbed both of Bella's hand and said "honey I have to work. You can't be at home by yourself. If you're not staying here you have to go to work with me" and Bella let more tears fall.

"I just wanna go home" she cried.

Emily and Derek could see the kid was really hurt.  
"Come here." Derek said standing up and picking Bella up. "Let's go" they walked to the car and Derek placed the crying girl on the backseat. She was embarrassed that he carried her.  
"Em I think you should let the principal know you picked her up earlier. Go in and tell him and I'll stay with her" Derek said.  
"Okay. Anything just get me" Emily said and walked to the school while Derek sat next to Bella who was calmer but still crying.

"Come here kid" he said opening his arms and Bella hugged him.

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** Emily explained to the principal that Isabella called her saying that she wasn't feeling good so she decided to go pick her up. She decided not to tell the truth because she thought the principal could think that Bella just didn't really wanted to go to school so she went with sickness.

It wasn't long till she went back to the car.  
"Bella your French teacher will send your homework through Chloe, alright?" Emily said as Morgan opened the door. Bella nodded yes. She wasn't crying anymore but she looked broken and red. Emily got in on the back sitting next to Bella and hugged the girl.  
"It's gonna be alright honey" she said and Bella just stayed silent. Derek drove them to the BAU.

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When they walked through the door Isabella was holding Emily's hand tight.  
"My desk or Penelope's?" Emily asked.  
"Yours" Bella said. She didn't want to have to explain everything right now and she knew Penelope would ask. They headed over to Emily's desk and Bella sat on the chair that Derek pulled for her. Emily kissed her forehead and said "I'm gonna talk to Hotch."  
"Could you keep an eye on her?" She whispered to Morgan.  
"Sure" he said. Emily walked to Hotch's office to tell him why she had left out of nowhere and Derek sat on Emily's chair next to Bella.  
"So do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked Bella who thought for a while and then said:  
"These girls said some things and I just panicked. I wanted to talk to Cameron but I knew I couldn't do that. And I wanted my mom. I just wanted to leave" Bella admitted.  
"Do you want to tell us what they said?" JJ asked.  
"No" Bella said as she shook her head, almost a whisper.  
"Okay" Derek said running his hand on Bella's back. She just sat their quiet.

.  
It wasn't long till Emily went back. She hugged Bella who was now playing with Derek's phone and then Derek called her over to talk. They walked to a quieter place with JJ while Spencer kept an eye on Bella. They told Emily what Bella said and JJ thought she had to push the girl into telling who bullied her. Emily agreed and said that if it happened again she would tell the principal. They talked a bit more about the matter and then went back to their desks.  
The rest of the day went okay. Bella just sat there reading, playing games on Emily's phone and occasionally talked to people. Around 6 Emily and Bella went home. When they got to the apartment Bella went straight to the shower. Emily went to shower too. She couldn't help but notice how quiet Bella was.  
Emily finished and headed downstairs to cook dinner. She cooked lasagna and when it was done she went upstairs to get Bella. She found Isabella sitting on the ground at the corner of her bedroom playing with her iPad.  
"Hey. Dinner's ready" she smiled.

Isabella got up and walked to her mom. Emily took her hand and they went downstairs. Isabella barely touched the food and she was looking awful.  
"Honey you need to eat" Emily said concern. "You look so pale"  
"I am pale mom" Bella said.  
"Not like this" Emily said and the conversation was cut by the door bell ringing.  
"Do you want to get it?" Emily asked.  
"Not really" Bella said so Emily got up and headed to the door. She looked through the eye thing and smiled at the sight of Hilary, Chloe and Millie. She opened the door.  
"Hi" she said and Bella looked at the door.  
"Hi. I hope we're not bothering you but Chloe has Bella's homework" Hilary said and Chloe handed out a folder.  
"Oh come on in" Emily said. The three women went inside. Millie ran to Bella when she spotted the girl. "Bella" she called happily. They hugged.  
"Millie!" Hilary called embarrassed that the kid ran inside.  
"It's alright" Emily said. "Would you guys like some lasagna?" Emily asked.  
"Oh thank you but we already had dinner" Hilary said. "I was just wondering if I could maybe talk to you" she said serious.  
"Sure" Emily said. "Hey Bella why don't you take Millie and Chloe to see your room huh?"  
"Okay" Bella said, she didn't want to eat anyways.

Isabella took Millie's hand and walked to the stairs, Chloe followed them.  
"Wow your room is cool" Millie said as she walked in.  
"Thanks" Bella said sitting on her bed.  
"So here's your homework" Chloe said. "It's pretty easy actually I finished mine just before dinner. Did you do your geometry already?" She asked.  
"No" Bella admitted.  
"Do you want some help?" Chloe asked.  
"It's okay. Thanks. I'll do it before bed" Isabella said. "Oh I finished that Jane Austen book"  
"Is it good?" Chloe asked sitting on the bed next to Bella.  
"Yeah. You can take it home with you if you want and then bring back when you're done" Bella said.  
"Sure." Chloe smiled. Isabella walked to her book shelf and got the book and handed to Chloe.  
"Bella?" Chloe said.  
"Yeah?"  
"Are you going back to school tomorrow?" Chloe asked and Isabella could see Chloe was scared. Bella really didn't want to go but she felt like she couldn't leave Chloe there alone. She really liked Chloe, they had so much in common and they were starting to feel like really good friends.  
"I think so" Bella said. "Why?"  
"It's just Unm... " Chloe said embarrassed. "I don't really have other friends and you're really nice and cool so"  
"Well if I change schools it doesn't mean I'll stop being your friend." Bella said and Chloe smiled.  
"I hope not" Chloe said.  
"You're really nice and cool too" Bella said smiling and both laughed.

The girls just talked about books and played with Millie while Emily and Hilary talked.


	26. Chapter 26: Bullying Sucks

**Just did some corrections in this chapter. I had to change Chloe and Bella's new friend name to Gavin. He used to be called Johnny but i ended up not really liking it because it reminded me of her father and i wasn't going for that so i decided to change. He's** Gavin **now**

 **.**

 ****** Hey so i had quite a lot of free time today and was able to write a lot =)**

 **If you guys didn't know/noticed i upload 2 chapters every day. I hope you guys are liking like this.**

 **so... since i wrote a lot today i decided to upload 2 extras =)**

 **enjoy**

 **xo-b**

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.

.

…At the dining room Emily and Hilary sat when the kids went upstairs.  
"Well Chloe told me what happened at school today" Hilary said. She looked very sorry. "It's not the first time those girls pick on kids. They've been doing this to Chloe since she started there. I've talked to Carl but the only thing that changed was that it doesn't happen inside the classroom anymore. One of the girls is almost 13. She's an old teacher's daughter"  
"Did Chloe tell you what they said?" Emily asked.  
"Bella didn't tell you?" Hilary asked surprised and Emily nodded no.  
"Well she said that they talked to Bella before the first class and then later they asked how she got in the school and started making fun of her about that." Hilary said and Emily nodded yes concern.  
"Emily, Chloe told me about Isabella's father. I am really sorry" she said sad.  
"She told Chloe?" Emily asked surprised.  
"Look. I'm going to be very honest, alright? Chloe told me the girls said you had sex with the principal in order for Bella to get in the school and they threatened to tell Isabella's dad. And then Bella just ran away crying" Hilary said.  
"Oh my God." Emily said, she looked pissed but also sad. She couldn't believe how kids could be so mean.  
"I know that's absolutely not what happened and I know Bella knows that too. But those kids can be brutal" Hilary said. "Chloe said Bella cried a lot and then told her that her dad passed away."  
"He died last week. He had been sick for a while but she didn't knew about it. It was a shock for her. It has just been hard you know. And I just thought going to school would help" Emily told Hilary.  
"Yeah. Chloe was so upset about just moving here and staying away from her father. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for Bella" Hilary said. "Well for both of you"  
"She's a tough kid" Emily smiled sadly.  
"I can see she is." Hilary said. "Look. If you need help with anything just call me, alright? I know being a single mom can be very hard and specially managing work and a child. So anything really I'm here"  
"Thank you" Emily said. She could see Hilary wanted to help, and she couldn't be more thankful.  
"Whenever you need" Hilary said and Emily smiled. There was a bit of silence and then Hilary spoke.  
"Is Bella going to change schools because of this?" She asked concerned.  
"I have to say I don't want her to but I don't know how she's going to react to all of this now" Emily said. "If she says she wants to change she probably will."  
Hilary just smiled and didn't say anything. Hilary didn't want Bella to leave the school because Chloe never had friends there and the school was the best in the city, she didn't want to take Chloe out, it was a good opportunity to be in there.  
"Well, I'll talk to her later tonight about it. Thank you so much for letting me know" Emily said.  
"No problem. I'm just happy my Chloe finally has a friend you know. She's just so shy" Hilary let out a laugh.  
"Well, Bella is too so.." Emily laughed.  
"Yeah" Hilary smiled. "Well I should go. Millie's passed her bed time"  
"Alright" Emily smiled standing up. Hilary followed Emily to the bottom of the stairs.  
"Bell come down" Emily called and the three girls appeared at the top of the stairs.  
"We gotta go kids. It's a school night" Hilary said and the girls went downstairs. They said their goodbyes and left.  
"I'm gonna take another shower okay mom?" Bella said heading to the stairs.  
"Alright" Emily said. Bella went up and Emily went to clean where they had dinner. She thought about everything Hilary told her and she couldn't believe how mean those girls where. She knew Isabella had been bullied several times at the boarding school but she had Cameron there who tried hard to shield her from all of it but in this new school all Bella had was Chloe, who was even more scared about the whole thing than Bella was. Emily decided to sit down and talk to Bella once she finished the shower so she went and put on pajamas and sat on her bed waiting for Bella.  
It wasn't long till Isabella went to her mother's bedroom.  
"Hey" Emily said greeting the girl who gave her a sweet smile. "Come here" Emily said and Isabella walked to the bed and sat next to her mother. "We need to talk" Emily said serious and Isabella took a deep breath. Bella assumed Chloe told everything to Hilary and that's what Hilary and Emily talked about.  
"So Hilary told me what happened at school today. Chloe told her" Emily started and Bella just stared at the floor. "I don't know how kids can be so mean." Emily paused taking a deep breath. Isabella could feel Emily was angry about it. "Hilary said they have been doing things like this for a long time. Look. I know it's awful to get bullied and it shouldn't happen to anyone." She said taking some hair off Isabella's face, putting behind her ear. Bella's eyes had tears in it.  
"I understand if you don't want to go back. We can look for a new school if you want, okay?" Emily said.  
"I don't want to change schools mom" Isabella said letting a tear fall. She looked so hurt.  
"You don't?" Emily asked surprised. She was sure Bella wouldn't want to go back there ever again.  
"I can't. I can't leave Chloe there alone" Isabella said as more tears fell.  
"Oh honey" Emily said hugging Bella. "You're too good you know?" Emily said.  
"I'm her only friend. It's just not fair" Bella said.  
"Alright. And look, if this happens again you tell me okay. It doesn't matter what they say you just tell me. I want to hear it from you and not from Hilary okay?" Emily said.  
"Okay" Bella said and nodded yes. Emily hugged her again.  
"If it happens again you tell me and I'll go talk to the principal everyday if I have to. I even talk to these girls if I need to alright?" Emily said smiling at the thought of her talking to those girls.  
"Alright" Bella smiled.  
"Chloe is very lucky to have you as a friend honey" Emily smiled.  
"She's really nice mom" Bella said.  
"She's a good kid" Emily said. "Just like you are" she smiled and hugged Bella.  
"So you're going tomorrow?" Emily asked smiling at the braveness of her child.  
"Yes" Bella nodded yes and wiped her face.  
"Alright so bed time. It's a school night" Emily smiled and stood up. Bella followed Emily into Bella's bedroom. Emily tucked her in and headed back. Isabella stayed up for about 20 minutes after that just thinking about stuff. Emily's head was also full. She couldn't help but be proud of Isabella for being so strong and sticking there for her friend. She just hoped the bullying would stop soon. The kid had been through enough already and she didn't want that to turn into the horrible experience Isabella had in the beginning of boarding school in which she would call John everyday crying begging him to take her home. It was horrible and it only got better when she met Cameron. Emily just hoped this time Isabella could figure things out by herself.

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** **(** **Wednesday)  
** Emily woke up with the alarm clock and went to wake Bella up. They showered, had breakfast and headed off. Isabella was scared when Emily parked the car on the parking lot of the school. She unbuckled and just sat there for a little while. Both stayed quiet. Emily didn't want to push her.  
After a while Isabella saw Chloe hugging Hilary goodbye.  
"Mom, Chloe is there" Bella said. "Anything you'll pick me up right?" Bella asked to make sure.  
"Yes. You just call me, okay?" Emily smiled. Isabella hugged her mom.  
"Be good" Emily said.  
"Okay. I love you mom" Isabella said.  
"I love you to. Have a good day. And be safe" Emily said. Bella gave her a kiss and headed out of the car. She ran to Chloe.  
"Chloe!" She called. The blonde girl turned around and smiled big when she saw Bella.  
"Hi" Chloe said. "You came" she smiled. Isabella could tell she was surprised.  
"Yup" Bella smiled. They walked to the big stairs and before going in Isabella looked back again to check her mom. Emily smiled and waved at her. Isabella returned the wave and Chloe waved too. Then they walked in and Emily drove away.

.  
The first class was geography, and they also had American history and chemistry, and the last period was English that day. The day went on okay. Bella and Chloe sat on the front again and Gavin followed them.  
"Hey" he said when he arrived. Chloe had met him after class the day before and told Bella had gone home but she didn't explain why. "So why did you went home yesterday?" He asked.  
"Oh" Bella said turning to Chloe. "I thought Chloe told you."  
"No she didnt" He asked.  
"Those girls Unm ... they just.." Isabella said.  
"Oh they bullied you too?" He asked and Bella nodded yes.  
"Yeah they suck. Don't listen to them. They are just brats" he said.

"yeah" Bella and Chloe said in unison.

"Well there's theater today after school. Are you guys coming?"  
"Nop" Chloe said laughing and Bella just got lost thinking about it.  
"What about you Bella?" he asked.

"I can't. I have things to do" Bella lied.  
"Oh okay. Maybe another time" Gavin said.  
"maybe" Chloe said and they all smiled. Isabella felt good around them. They were fun.

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**  
The day went in great.

Right when lunch break started Isabella called Emily just to let her know everything was fine. Emily was very happy about that.

The only part Isabella didn't like was when they were done with lunch and headed to their lockers. One of the 4 girls' lockers was next to Bella's and they came crazy on her again.  
"So the cry baby returned" one of the girls said as Bella opened her locker. Her name was Yuna, she had a short and straight blonde hair and was about Isabella's height.  
"So did you tell your daddy about your mommy and Carl? I bet he didn't mind did he?" The tallest one with light brown hair said, her name was Vanessa, she was almost 13.  
"My dad died, okay? Just leave me alone" Isabella said serious shutting her locker. She had her chemistry book on her hand.  
"I'm sorry. Well not really but whatever" Vanessa said and the 4 girls walked away. Besides Yuna and Vanessa there were Gail, who hair curly black hair, and Mazzy, who Isabella noticed never said anything at all. Mazzy was always with them but never said a word, she just stared.  
They headed to science class, which had its own special classroom with lab stuff. Bella got partnered with Chloe, because the teacher let them pick their partners and as the class was an odd number before Chloe was the one alone.

The class went great and after that was time for English. They headed to their year classroom and sat on the front again. The class went alright. All Bella could think was the amount of homework she was getting.  
The kids walked out of the classroom.

"Well do you guys want to go to the movies sometimes or to my house?" Chloe asked shyly as they began walking to the door.  
"Sure!" Gavin said.

"How about a movie on Friday?" Isabella suggested.  
"sure. I'll ask my mom" Gavin said.  
"well, it's you so my mom will probably say yes" Chloe told Bella and the three smiled.  
"Alright. so Friday it is" Bella laughed.

"Who will take us?" Chloe asked.

"I can see if my mom can." Bella said.

"Wait! You can't go alone? I mean just us?" Gavin said.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"you have to ask if she can drop us off" He said. "you really never went alone?" he asked surprise. His parents let him go to the movies with his theater friends all the time.

"Well, sorta of" bella said as they walked out.

Emily was in the car anxiously waiting for Bella to appear at that door. She smiled big at the sight of her daughter laughing with her friends.  
Isabella spotted the car and said "well my mom's here"  
"Mine's too" Chloe said smiling.  
"So I see you two tomorrow?" Gavin asked and both said yes in unison and walked away.

Bella was almost at the car when the wind blew on her head and her hair went all over her face.

Suddenly Vanessa showed up in front of her.  
"Hey. You should fix your hair" Vanessa said mocking her and Bella just stared and then walked away. Isabella looked pissed. She walked to the car, opened the door and jumped in.  
"What happened there?" Emily asked.  
"Just one of those stupid girls" Bella said serious. "You should fix your hair" Isabella mimicked her letting a laugh at the end while getting the hair of her face. "She should fix herself" Isabella said and Emily bursted into laughing.  
"Oh child" Emily laughed as she started the car.

Bella buckled and they were off.  
"So how was it today?" Emily asked.  
"It was okay" Bella said.  
"So the boy with you and Chloe. Who is him?" Emily asked.  
"His name is Gavin." Bella said.  
"He seems cool" Emily said and Bella laughed.  
"I guess so" she said.  
"Alright. So I was thinking about an after school little snack before heading to the office. What do you think?" Emily asked.  
"Sure" Bella smiled at Emily, who smiled back at her.  
Emily went to the McDonald's drive through and got French fries and milkshakes for both of them and then headed to the BAU.

When they got there JJ gave Bella a hug.  
"So how was school today?" JJ asked.  
"It was alright" Isabella said with a little smile.  
"Lots of homework?" JJ asked.

"kind of" Bella said not sounding very excited.  
"make yourself at home and start on those, alright?" Emily said as Bella sat on her desk.  
"Anything I'm at Garcia's office okay?" Emily asked.  
"Okay" Bella said. "Mom? where's everyone?" Bella asked noticing the team wasn't there.

"They went on a case. JJ, Garcia and I stayed" Emily said.

"When will they be back?" she asked.

"I'm not sure honey" Emily said.

"Guys!" Penelope called them and waved at Bella, who smiled and waved back.

"We gotta go baby" Emily told Bella and walked to Garcia's office.

Emily and JJ walked away and Bella started working on all her homework. She had to do history and geography and also start a book for English, which was Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone, which she had read several times but she wanted to read again. She also remembered she had to do French and geometry from the day before.

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** After a while Emily went to check on her. Isabella is reading Harry Potter  
"Hey. Shouldn't you be doing homework?" Emily asked  
"I am" Bella smiled. "well, this is the book we're reading. It's not my fault my teacher likes J.K Rowling" Bella said.

"you better not be lying." Emily said.

"I swear I not" bella smiled.

"I believe you… well I think." Emily said making Isabella laugh.  
"I gotta go back there" Emily smiled.  
"Okay" Bella said and sat down again.

"wait mom!" Bella said and Emily walked back to her.

"can i stay with you?" she asked.

"oh honey. I dont think that's a very good idea" Emily said.

"why not?" Bella asked a bit down.

"Look baby, how about you stay here today and some other day we hang out with Penelope and JJ out of the office huh? " Emily said.

"I just wanted to stay with you" Bella said looking at the floor.

"I know you do" Emily said kneeing down in front of Bella.

"look at me" she said and the girl did what she was told. "I don't want you to see things you're not quite ready for" Emily said and Bella's eyes just filled with tears. "Look, you know that we catch the bad guys, right?" Emily asked and Bella nodded. "but to do that we have to see what they did, and i told want you seeing that too" Emily said.

"you see pictures?" Bella asked.

"yeah. and a little girl should not see any of that, right?" Emily said wiping Isabella's face.

"right." Bella said.

"don't be sad. I'll come here check on you soon, okay?" Emily said.

"okay" Bella said.

"oh and maybe we can read the Harry Potter book together tonight. What do you think?" Emily said smiling and Bella nodded yes with a little smile. Emily kissed her cheek and walked to Garcia's office. She felt bad to not allow Bella to stay with them but they were going through some things she did not want her 10 year-old to even think was possible.

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**

It was almost 8 when Emily and Isabella left the BAU. Bella finished all her homework and read a lot of chapters of the book. Emily could see the kid was really tired.  
"So what about leftover lasagna?" Emily asked as she locked the apartment's door.  
"How about a bed?" Isabella asked. Emily laughed and threw her arm around Bella.  
"Shower, food and bed?" Emily asked.  
"Whatever" Bella said.  
"No whatever's to me young lady" Emily nodded and laughed. Isabella smiled.  
"Fine" Bella said and ran upstairs. She took a shower and headed to the kitchen to find Emily waiting with two plates of lasagna. They ate, brushed their teeth and headed to bed.

"can we read the book tomorrow?" Bella asked walking in her room.

"are you sleepy?" Emily asked picking her up.

"yeah" Bella said hugging her mom.

"Alright. We can read some pages tomorrow" Emily said putting Bella down on the bed. The girl got under the covers and hugged her stuffed dog Tramp, from Lady and The Tramp. Emily tucked her in and then went to bed. Both were so tired that it didn't take long for them to pass out.


	27. Chapter 27: Friends

****** Hi guys. So sorry I didn't post for a while. Things got a little crazy here at my house and I wasn't really having time to write. But here it is =)**

 **Ps: Grammar mistakes: sometimes they just slip. I'll try to pay more attention. Don't worry.**

.

.

(Thursday)

Isabella woke up around 5:30am and couldn't go back to sleep. She thought it wasn't worth it to wake her mother so she got up, took a shower, got dressed and sat on her bed and started playing on her iPad. She stayed there till Emily walked in at 6:32 to wake her up.

"Oh you're all ready?" Emily asked surprised.

"I woke up early" Bella smiled.

"Alright so I'm going to shower and I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast, okay?" Emily said.

"Alright" Bella agreed and went back to playing on the iPad.

Emily went to shower and it wasn't long till she was ready.

"Let's have breakfast Bells" she called heading to the stairs. Isabella placed the iPad in the nightstand and headed out. She had cereal and Emily just had some coffee and a toast. Then they got their things and headed to the car.

.

On the way to school Bella mentioned the movie on Friday.

"Well of course I can take you guys" Emily said.

"mom, Gavin said he goes alone sometimes" Bella said.

"what do you mean alone?" Emily asked.

"like without a parent. Just with friends." Bella explained shyly.

"Oh so you just want me to drive you there?" Emily asked smiling.

"sorta" Bella said shyly.

"How about you invite him over tomorrow after school and I'll drive you guys to the movies?" Emily said.

"really?" Bella asked excited.

"really" Emily smiled. She knew Bella would be alright and she wasn't planning on leaving the parking lot anyways.

"But will he go home with me after school?" Isabella asked.

"No baby I'll be working." Emily said. "See if he can stop by around 5. You go to the office after school and we'll be home before he gets there. Okay?"

"Sure. Can I invite Chloe over too?"

"Of course" Emily agreed.

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The day at the school went okay. Bella just hung out with Gavin and Chloe and they talked about the plans for the next. They decided to watch one that started at 7:30 so they'd have plenty of time to just hang out.

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At Emily's work, Emily had been working from the office with JJ and Penelope non stop since she got there. Around 11 JJ and Emily had been reading files and working on a profile for hours.

"This is gonna take forever. I should call a sitter tonight cause Will is working late too" JJ said.

Emily then thought about Bella spending a school night at the office and she didn't like the idea at all, especially with all the pictures they had hanging around there now.

"J. I'm gonna make a call and I'll be right back." Emily said standing up and JJ nodded yes. Emily walked to a more private area and called Hilary.

"Hello?" Emily said.

"Hi Emily" Hilary greeted.

"Hi. I'm sorry for bothering you at work" Emily said embarrassed.

"Oh no it's okay. Is everything alright?" Hilary said smiling.

"Yeah. It's just that we got packed with work today. The team is out on a case and I'm working from the office and I don't really want Bella around this stuff, you know? And I'm probably going to work till late so I was wondering if you could keep an eye on her for me?" Emily said.

"Sure" Hilary said.

"Really? Are you sure?" Emily asked surprised, she wasn't sure if Hilary would want to.

"Yeah yeah. Of course. She can stay the night if you want. A little sleepover might be good for them" Hilary said.

"I'm not sure if she'll be up for that so I'll pick her up as soon as I'm done here. Thank you so much. I'll call her to let her know" Emily said.

"Okay and anything just call" Hilary said.

"Alright. Thank you" Emily said.

"Oh it's nothing. Bye" Hilary laughed at how thankful Emily sounded.

"Bye" Emily said and they hang up. Emily was really happy she had Hilary to help sometimes now.

.

She walked back and sat to resume her work.

"What happened?" JJ asked noticing the smile on Emily's face.

"Bella's staying at Chloe's today" she smiled.

"Really?" JJ asked surprised. They were all happy the kid had made a friend.

"Yeah." Emily nodded smiling.

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During lunch break Emily called Bella to ask if she would be okay with going to Hilary's house after school because she would be working nonstop at the office.

"I don't mind" Isabella said not sounding like she really meant it.

"Hey. If you don't want to it's okay" Emily said.

"I do I just.." Bella said.

"You just what?"

"I don't know mom. When will you be home?" Isabella asked.

"I'm not sure the time honey"

"Okay. So I'll just stay there till you're done?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. It won't be too long okay?" Emily said.

"Alright" Bella agreed.

"Okay then. Anything just call" Emily said.

"Okay."

"Alright. Bye. I love you" Emily said.

"I love you too mom. Bye" Bella said and they hung up. Isabella was feeling really unsure about staying at Chloe's but she thought it would be better than staying at the office "by herself" since they would just be working.

.

The hours passed really fast at school and suddenly the last bell rang. Bella, Gavin and Chloe headed out of the classroom and when they were almost at the entrance the 4 girls approached.

"Hey" Vanessa said and they just froze. "I see you finally made some loser friends Chloe"

"I did" Chloe said embarrassed and walked out. Gavin and Bella followed her leaving those girls behind laughing. Isabella could feel how tense Chloe was. They headed out without saying a word till Gavin said "bye girls. See you two tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah" both girls said in unison.

"oh Gavin! My mom said she can drive us and she said you guys can stop by at my house around 5." Bella said.

"cool" Gavin said smiling. "I'll talk to my mom" he said. "Bye"

"bye" the girls said.

They walked to the car to find Hilary and Millie waiting for them.

"Hi. Did you guys have a nice day?" Hilary asked.

"Sure" Chloe said smiling and Bella smiled too. They could actually say that. They just hung out and the girls didn't really bother them that day so they for sure had a good day.

They jumped in the car and Hilary drove.

"So what do you guys think of a snack before heading home?" Hilary asked.

"Yeeeeeeah" Millie screamed excited.

"Alright!" Hilary laughed. "So what about nachos?"

"Sure" Chloe said.

"Do you like that Bella?" Hilary asked.

"Yes I do" Bella said embarrassed.

"Okay then" Hilary smiled and went to a drive-thru. They got nachos and headed home.

Isabella was excited to see their apartment and hang out with them but she was nervous too. Nervous about her mom away at work.

First thing Isabella noticed when they walked in was that It was a one level apartment, different from hers. Chloe gave her a little house tour and Bella thought the place was lovely. Millie's room was very very pink and filled with stuffed animals and toys. Chloe's room was light pink and the furniture was all vintage, Bella loved it. There were books everywhere but not as many as Bella had. They put their bags on the twin bed and Chloe landed Bella some clothes. They changed and headed to the kitchen to eat.

They ate and talked, Bella was having fun. When they were done Chloe said "do you wanna watch some tv? We can do our homework later"

"Sure" Bella smiled and followed Chloe to the living room which was the only place Chloe hadn't shown her on the little tour.

"Oh my god" Isabella's eyes widened when she saw a big black piano in the far corner of the room. "You have a piano?!" She said smiling.

"Yeah" Chloe laughed.

"Do you play?" Bella asked.

"Kind of" Chloe said embarrassed.

"Yes she does Bella. Don't let her fool you. She's amazing" Hilary said entering the room and Isabella laughed.

"Can you play? pleeeease" Bella smiled.

"Oh God" Chloe said.

"Just one song" Bella begged.

"Only if you play one later?" Chloe said.

"What? I don't play" Bella lied.

"Bella I saw the books in your room." Chloe said.

"That doesn't mean anything" Bella said embarrassed.

"Alright. First Chloe then Bella. Come on" Hilary said taking Bella by the hand and sitting on the couch. Chloe walked embarrassed to the piano and played. She was really good despite looking extremely embarrassed while playing. When she was done Hilary, Millie and Bella clapped.

"Alright now your turn" Chloe said running to the couch.

"Guys I don't play piano" Isabella said embarrassed.

"Go on" Hilary said slightly pushing Bella towards the piano. "Don't be embarrassed. It's okay if you're not good". The girls laughed and Bella played a song beautifully.

"Oh you're good kid" Hilary said smiling. "You shouldn't be embarrassed with that" She said and Isabella smiled shyly. Then the girls turned the tv on. Millie wanted to watch cartoons so that's what they did the rest of the afternoon, they talked and watched cartoons.

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Around 6:30 Hilary called them for dinner. Isabella made her own plate which allowed her to put just a tiny bit amount of food since she was still not feeling like eating anything. During dinner Chloe mentioned going over to Bella's house the next day and Emily driving them to the movies. Hilary thought it was a good idea. She couldn't be happier for Chloe.

They ate dinner and then had ice cream sandwiches for desert. They watched more tv and then Chloe went to shower. At 7:48 Emily called Bella who was on Chloe's bedroom reading 'Harry Potter' waiting for her friend to finished showering.

"Hi" Said Bella.

"Hi honey. I just called to let you know I'll be a bit more late then I thought" Emily said.

"How much more late?" Isabella asked sounding upset.

"Don't worry you won't spend the night over there. I promise" Emily said trying to push Isabella's fears away. She knew Bella would hate that.

"Okay. Do you want to talk to Hilary?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"Okay. I'm gonna get her" Bella said and walked to the living room where Hilary was combing Millie's hair.

"My mom wants to talk to you" Bella said handing the phone to Hilary.

Isabella sat on the couch watching tv while Hilary and Emily talked.

When they were done they hung up and Hilary said "your mom will come later tonight so if you want to shower Chloe can land you some pajamas"

"It's okay" Bella said embarrassed.

"Hey you won't need to sleep here. Your mom will come just a bit later. You can stay watching some tv with Chloe and I till she's here. It's just so she'll pick you up all ready for bed" Hilary said. Emily had mentioned to her on the phone that Bella didn't want to sleep there and that tv usually calmed her at night so Hilary said that.

Suddenly Chloe appeared.

"I'm done" she said sitting next to Bella on the arm of the couch.

"Chlo can you land Bella some pajamas and get her one of the new towels on the bathroom cabinet?" Hilary said.

"Sure." She said smiling and getting up. Isabella followed her. She showered and headed to Chloe's bedroom to fix her hair. When she got there she found Chloe siting on the bed.

"Are you sleeping here?" Chloe asked curious.

"No. My mom is going to be really late so your mom thought it was best if I was ready for bed by the time my mom gets here" Isabella said.

"Oh" Chloe said. "Maybe some other time we can have a sleepover. I think it would be cool"

"Sure" Bella smiled and Chloe smiled back.

"So we have to do our homework" Bella said.

"Oh yeah" Chloe laughed. "I literally forgot" they laughed and got their bags.

"Let's go to the dining table." Chloe said and they headed there.

.

They finished all their homework and then headed to the living room and shared the couch. They watched tv for a really long time. Chloe fell asleep after 10:30 and Hilary told her to go to bed because it was a school night after all. Chloe said goodnight to them and headed to bed. Hilary could see that Bella was fighting her sleep.

"Sweetie. Do you want to go stay at Chloe's bedroom with her till your mom gets here?" Hilary asked.

"No. I'll just wait for her." Bella said managing a small smile. She was really tired but she wanted her mom. She fought her sleep for almost an hour when she finally gave in.

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It was almost 2am when Emily got there. Isabella was passed out on the couch and Hilary was sitting on her office working on the computer. Hilary was used to staying up late working.

Hilary opened the door and Emily was standing there.

"I'm really sorry I'm this late" she said so embarrassed.

"It's alright. I'm still working" Hilary smiled. "Come on in" she said and Emily walked in.

"Where is she?" Emily asked.

"Passed out on the couch. She wouldn't give in and go to bed so.." Hilary laughed and Emily laughed too.

"Would you like to eat something?" Hilary asked.

"Oh no. Thanks. I really just need to sleep right now. It was a looong day" Emily said.

"I can't imagine doing what you do" Hilary said and Emily gave her a small smile. Hilary laughed and said "it's impressive how much you and Bella look alike". And Emily laughed. "Come on she's in here" Hilary said heading to the living room and Emily followed her.

They walked in to find Bella fast asleep in the same exact position Hilary had left her some time before. Emily sat next to her and woke her up.

"Hey we gotta go home Bella" Emily whispered when Bella began to open her eyes.

"Hi" Bella said and sat to hug her mom. Emily embraced her and smiled.

"You came" Bella said.

"I promised you, didn't I?" Emily smiled letting go of the hug. They got up, Bella held Emily's hand.

"Go get your things" Emily said and Bella headed to the dining room where she had left her backpack. She got everything and went to the women.

"Thank you so much for watching her" Emily said.

"No problem." Hilary smiled "Anytime"

"Goodnight Bella" Hilary said hugging Bella.

"Goodnight" Bella said.

"I can drive the girls to school with us tomorrow if you'd like?" Emily offered seeing the amount of work on the table.

"I would actually" Hilary laughed. "I don't know how long I'll be up doing work today" she said.

"Alright, so I'll stop here on our way down tomorrow" Emily said.

"Okay. Thanks" Hilary said. "So do you want me to drop Bella off after school? My girls will start taking the bus next week"

"Oh. No it's okay. Bella will take the bus tomorrow before I have to be away on cases. So if something happens I'm here." Emily said smiling.

"Oh okay." Hilary said. "You try not to get lost okay?" Hilary smiled at Bella.

"I won't" Bella said.

"Goodnight" Hilary said.

"Goodnight" Emily said and they went out. They headed to the elevator and while they were waiting Emily noticed Bella was almost asleep on her feet.

"Hey give me this" she said beginning to take Bella's backpack off her back. Isabella let her and Emily put the backpack on herself as the elevator door opened. They walked in and Bella leaned against the elevator wall. Emily let out a laugh and said "come here". Bella took a deep breath and hugged her mom and closed her eyes. They let go as the elevator stopped on their floor and walked out. Bella was just so tired she thought that if she laid on the hallway floor she wouldn't be able to get up. Emily opened the door and they got in. Emily dropped Bella's bag on the floor and grabbed Bella by the hand.

"Come on let's go to bed" she said smiling at the sleepy zombie child.

They walked to the stairs and before they made to the top of the stairs Bella asked "mom can I sleep on your bed tonight?"

"Of course you can honey" Emily said as they stepped on the last step. Emily could see the kid was literally almost asleep on her feet.

"Come here" she laughed and picked Bella up.

"I missed you" Bella said wrapping her arms around her mother's neck.

"I missed you too you heavy munchkin" Emily said impressed at how much heavier Isabella suddenly seemed to get when she was sleeping or almost sleeping. She walked in her bedroom and let Bella down on the bed. Isabella covered herself and Emily gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight bells" she said.

"Goodnight mom" Bella replied.

"I'm going to shower super fast, okay?" Emily said but with no response, the kid was out. Emily smiled and went to take a shower.

Emily showered, got dressed and headed to bed.

She stared at the sleeping girl for a while and felt happy to have her daughter next to her. She fell asleep shortly and they both slept the entire night barely moving on the bed. They were both just exhausted.

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(Friday)

Emily woke up with a jump because of her alarm clock while Bella stayed sleeping peacefully. Emily got up and went to the bathroom and then went to wake Bella up. They showered and got ready. Isabella decided to wear her black rain boots to school.

Emily went downstairs to make breakfast while Bella checked her school things.

"Bella!" Emily called from downstairs. "Come eat" Emily said. Isabella went downstairs to find a plate with strawberries and Nutella.

"Oooh special breakfast" Bella joked making Emily smile.

"I thought we could use some Nutella today" Emily smiled. They both loved Nutella. They ate and then went to brush their teeth.

Isabella was all ready sitting on her bed waiting for Emily when she suddenly started feeling really anxious. The fear of her mom working late and she having to stay at Chloe's again was taking over. She tried concentrating on her breathing.

It wasn't long till Emily went to Isabella's bedroom to see why she was taking so long. She walked in to find Bella sitting on the bed, tears rolling down her face and her breathing really heavy.

"Honey, what happened?" Emily asked worried, walking in.

"I can't breath right" Bella said not looking up.

"You're having a panic attack come here" Emily said siting down. "Put your head between your legs" she said and lead Bella into doing that.

"You're gonna be okay. It's gonna go away." Emily said trying to calm Bella.

After a while Bella sat up.

"Feeling better?" Emily asked and Bella nodded. "What happened honey?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Let's just go" Isabella said. She didn't want to talk about it and she was embarrassed.

"Hey, you're not fine... and remember what we talked about?" Emily asked.

"It's okay mom. Let's go or I'm gonna be late" Isabella said standing up and grabbing her bag.

"Alright. But we'll talk about this later, okay?" Emily said serious.

"Fine" Bella mumbled and walked out of the room.

.

They stopped at Hilary's house to pick the girls up and the ride to the school was quiet.

"Bella don't forget the bus today, okay?" Emily said handing over a paper with the bus info to Bella while Isabella opened the door and walked out of the car. "Anything just call me" she said.

"Okay. Bye mom" Bella said with a small smile.

"Bye honey. I'll see you later."

"Okay. Be safe mom" Bella said serious.

"You too" Emily smiled. "Bye girls"

"Bye" they said and the 3 girls walked away.

Bella walked with Chloe to Millie's class. After dropping Millie off they head to their class. Before they could make it there those 4 girls showed up and bullied them about being nerds. Bella and Chloe kept a straight face on while slowly walking to class with the girls following them saying things. When they got to the classroom the girls stopped. They went to the front and Gavin was saving them their seats.

"Hey" Bella said with a serious face.

"Uou what happened?" Gavin asked noticing they looked pissed.

"Those stupid bratty chickens" Chloe said and Bella and Gavin couldn't help but laugh.

"So everything okay for tonight?" Chloe asked.

"Yup." Bella said.

"My mom said it's okay but she wants to meet your mom" Gavin said.

"Sure. She'll be home" Bella said.

"Then all clear" Gavin smiled. "What about you Chloe?" He asked.

"Clear as water" Chloe said smiling.

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The rest of the school went okay. At lunch they were sitting on a table, Everyone eating regular lunch food and Bella eating chips. They were chatting when Bella saw some people approaching out of the corner of her eye. When she looked up, she saw 2 of the 4 girls, Mazzy and Gail.

"So Isabella?" Mazzy said. Bella surprised that the girl was speaking.

"Mmhmm," Bella replied as she opened her coke.

"Nice boots" Mazzy said laughing and walked away.

"Stupid whores" Bella told Chloe. Chloe had a surprise look on her face from hearing Isabella say that.

And she wasn't the only one.

"What did you say?" Gail asked turning around to face Bella and walking closer to her.

"Nothing" Isabella said.

"So you can talk on our back but can't say it to our face?" Gail said.

"What did you call us?" Mazzy asked.

"I wasn't talking to you" Isabella said.

"What did you call us?" Gail said getting really close to Isabella's face.

"Nothing" Isabella said serious.

"Vanessa is going to be very happy about this shrimpy" Gail said and walked away, followed by Mazzy.

"Are you out of your mind?" Chloe asked Bella.

"It just came out" Isabella said.

"It was awesome" Gavin said smiling.

"It kinda was" Chloe said smiling. "But we are screwed now" she added.

"Sorry" Bella said.

Gavin met Isabella's eyes and they burst out laughing.

"I just hope this won't come back three times worse later" Chloe said.

"Oh Chlo! Don't ruin the moment" Bella said and the bell rang.

"Let's go" Gavin said standing up and they headed to class.

The rest of the day went great. The girls didn't say anything to them but they could see them looking over from time to time murmuring things.

After school was done Chloe headed home and Gavin went with Bella to the bus stop.

They had to get the same bus.

Bella thought Emily would really liked that.

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Bella opened the class door of the BAU and was happily greeted by Penelope.

"My Little Prentiss!" Penelope said running to hug her.

"Hi" Bella said shyly. "Where's my mom?"

"Conference room with JJ. Let's go" Penelope said smiling and dragged Bella up to the conference room.

"Look who I've found" Penelope said all perky pushing Bella into the room.

"Hi" Emily and JJ said happily in unison. Isabella walked to Emily who stood up and hugged her.

"Did you have a good day?" Emily asked running her hand on Bella's back still hugging.

"Yeah I guess" Bella said letting go of her mom and with a not so happy face.

"What happened?" JJ asked.

"Just those girls. They keep saying stuff to Chloe and I." Bella said "But it's fine" she lied.

"What did they say this time?" Emily asked as she sat down.

"Nothing. It's fine" Bella said. "Oh and mom! Gavin takes the same bus I do" she smiled changing the subject.

"He does?" Emily said surprised. "That's amazing honey" she smiled.

"Yeah" Bella smiled.

"I'm dying to meet your friends" Penelope said.

"Sure" Bella smiled.

"We could go out to eat one of these days" JJ said.

"Sure" Bella smiled.

"Do you have homework?" Emily asked.

"sure" Bella answered with a disappointed face and tone, and the women laughed.

"You can do it at my desk, okay? We're almost done here and I'll go check on you as soon as we finish with this" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella smiled shyly and walked out. Emily got up and ran and hugged her from behind. Bella jumped surprised.

"I missed you Bells" Emily said.

"I missed you too mom" Isabella said turning around to properly hug her mother. JJ and Penelope were smiling at the scene when Derek Morgan appeared.

"Oh look who's in the house!" He said smiling. Emily let go of Bella who smiled at him and said "hi"

"Don't I get a hug too kid?" He asked.

"Sure" Isabella answered shyly and went to give him a hug. They hugged and Emily said "alright. Now homework. Go!" And Bella walked to Emily's desk.

.

After about half an hour the team headed to their desks to start on some paper work.

"What's on the agenda today?" Derek asked Bella, sitting on the desk and peering down at the textbook.

"Geography" Isabella replied.

"Do you need any help with that?" JJ asked.

"I'm sure she's got it guys" Emily said walking to sit on the chair next to Bella. JJ just made a face and laughed along with her.

"Oo, we can help" Spencer said.

"No, no, no," Emily pointed at him. "Don't even think of doing it for her."

"Well I wasn't going to give the answers," Spencer replied, already reading Bella's textbook.

"It's fine, I can do it by myself" Bella said.

"Come on finish this" Emily said grabbing the textbook from Spencer. The team laughed and started working on their papers.

After about an hour Bella finished all her homework.

"Mom?" Bella said.

"Yes honey" Emily said as Bella put her books on her bag and grabbed her iPad.

"Can I go see Penelope?" She shyly asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled and Bella went.

She went to Penelope's office and they had a snack, then Penelope landed her headphones and she sat on the couch and started watching a movie. Around 5:20, Emily took the girl home.


	28. Chapter 28: Friday Night Out

…At home both went straight to the shower to get ready to go out. Isabella was excited to have her friends over. She showered and got dressed. She wore black leggings, a navy blue top with a black leather jacket and her keds flats. She blow dried her hair, poorly, and headed to look for her mother.

"Mom? Can you braid it?" Isabella asked walking into Emily's bedroom.

"Sure. Come here" Emily said and Bella walked to her.

"You look good mom" Bella smiled handing the comb to Emily.

"Thank you. You too" Emily said. Emily wore jeans, a blue top and her regular work boots.

"So how do you want it?" Emily asked.

"Two braids" Bella said.

"Penelope's?" Emily asked smiling.

"Yup" Bella agreed. Emily smiled big and started doing Bella's hair.

"So what happened at school today? What did those girls said?" Emily asked.

"Just the regular stuff" Bella said.

"What regular stuff?" Emily asked confused and worried.

"That we are nerds and stuff like that" Bella said.

"And what did you do?" Emily asked.

"Nothing" Bella said a bit disappointed.

"You didn't say anything?" Emily asked.

"Not to them" Bella said. She wanted to laugh remembering what had happened but she managed to keep a straight face.

"Oh honey" Emily said finishing Isabella's hair. She hugged the girl.

"It's fine mom" Bella said and turned around to face her. "Don't worry. It's fine." Bella said and the intercom rang.

"Well," Emily said "must be your friend" and they headed downstairs. Emily answered and it was Gavin and his mother Colette. She buzzed them in and waited for them at the door.

"I'm gonna call to let Chloe know he's here" Bella said walking to the living room while her mother stayed at the door.

.

After a while the elevator door opened and the two came out.

"Hi. I'm Colette. Gavin's mother" Colette said. The woman wasn't very tall but had a beautiful long dark brown hair and looked like a super nice person.

"I'm Emily" Emily said shaking the woman's hand. "Come on in. Bella went to call Chloe" she said and they walked in.

"What a lovely apartment" Colette said nicely.

"Thank you" Emily said and suddenly Bella walked downstairs.

"Hi" she said shyly.

"You must be Bella. I've heard so much about you" Colette said smiling at the girl.

"Hey" Gavin said and Isabella smiled at him.

"Chloe is coming up. Can we wait for her at the elevator?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily said smiling.

"Can I go?" Gavin asked his mom.

"Of course" Colette said and the kids ran out.

"So... Gavin told me you work for the FBI" Colette said.

"Yeah. I work at the BAU" Emily said.

"Behavior?" Colette asked.

"Yeah" Emily said a little intrigued. Colette didn't look like the type of woman to know much about the bureau.

Colette noticed that and said "my brother-in-law works for the beyond borders division"

"Oh" Emily smiled.

"Agent Butler." Colette said.

"Oh yeah. I meet him on my first week there" Emily said.

"It's a crazy work, right?" Colette said.

"At times" Emily said.

Suddenly the kids walked back in followed by Chloe.

"But you know, it's amazing that you do it" Colette said and Emily smiled.

"Do what?" Gavin asked.

"We're talking about her work" Colette said.

"It's super cool" Gavin said.

Isabella looked away from them trying not to think about it but all she could think was that it wasn't cool at all.

"So... Can we go to your room?" Chloe asked. She was wearing flowery leggings and a black lose shirt with her black chucks.

"Is that alright mom?" Bella asked shyly not really knowing if it was okay. She was knew to all of that. She was used to Cameron who was basically her sister.

"Sure. Go ahead" Emily said smiling.

"Bye mom" Gavin said and kissed his mom.

"Be good and be careful, okay?" Colette said.

"I will" Gavin said.

"Bye" Bella and Chloe said in unison and the three kids ran upstairs.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Colette asked.

"Sure sure" Emily said.

"What time should I pick him up?" Colette asked.

"I can take him home. It's alright" Emily said.

"Are you sure?" Colette said.

"Yeah" Emily smiled.

"Alright then. I have so much to do today it's insane. He chose the busiest day for a movie night" Colette said as her and Emily walked to the door.

"Um just one thing." Colette said and they stopped at the door. "Will you stay near the movie theater?" Colette asked.

"I plan on staying in the parking lot" Emily said letting out a laugh.

"Oh good" Colette said relived and they laughed.

"I want him to be independent but they're just kids and it's a big city. It's not that I don't trust them, it's the other people, you know?" Colette said.

"Yeah. I'm that way too" Emily smiled. She really liked Colette already.

"They're going to the Palladium, right?" Colette asked and Emily nodded yes.

"There's a restaurant there. I always stay there and when it's almost time to be over I go to the car" Colette said.

"Wonderful idea" Emily smiled.

"Alright." Colette smiled too. "Anything you can ground him okay?" She laughed.

"Okay" Emily laughed too.

"Nice to meet you. " Colette said.

"Nice to meet you too. Bye" Emily said.

"Bye" Colette said hugging Emily and then she left.

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Emily sat to watch some tv and let the kids be kids upstairs.

At Bella's bedroom, Bella gave Gavin a tour of the room and then just hung out till suddenly Emily walked in.

"Guys we should go. You still need to get tickets" Emily said smiling.

"Alright" Bella said standing up and her friends followed.

.

The ride to the movies was okay. Gavin told Emily a bit about himself and Emily really liked him. They talked about regular things till Emily parked the car.

"I'll wait here till you guys get in. Oh you'll call when it's done?" Emily asked as Gavin and Chloe got out of the car and Bella unbuckled.

"Sure" Bella said and gave Emily a kiss on the cheek.

"Alright." Emily said. "Have fun" she told them and they smiled and said "bye".

"Bye mom" Bella said opening the door.

They got the tickets, Bella waved to Emily and they walked inside.

Emily drove to park in another spot so Bella wouldn't see she was staying. She parked the car at the end of the parking lot and stayed there for a while. She waited 15 minutes after the movie started and went inside. She felt stupid hiding like that but she didn't want Bella to think she was being overprotective.

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In the movie theater they were having a lot of fun. Bella really liked her new friends and she felt really good around them. While they watched the movie Emily sat in the restaurant eating and watching tv. Around 20 minutes before the movie was supposed to end she went back to the car.

After a while her daughter's name and picture appeared on her phone screen.

"Bella?" She said answering the phone.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Isabella asked noticing her mother's tensed voice.

"Yeah. Are you okay?" Emily asked breathing out. That was the first time her daughter went out like that and even though she stayed inside she wasn't with them. She was freaking out.

"Yeah I'm fine. You can pick us up now" Bella said.

"Okay. Wait for me inside, alright? I'll be there soon" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Inside" Emily said.

"Alright mom" Bella said and they hung up.

"Is she coming?" Gavin asked.

"Yup" Bella said. "She wants us to wait inside" Bella said and they went close to the door to look through to see when Emily was coming. It wasn't long till Emily parked in front of the theater. The three walked out and got in the car. Emily tried hard to look like nothing happened.

"Are you okay?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just didn't want you here outside. It's late you know" Emily said and Bella gave her a little smile.

"How did you get here so fast?" Bella asked intrigued.

"Magic" Emily laughed.

"You waited at the restaurant, didn't you?" Gavin said and Emily just smiled and mouthed a sorry.

"It's fine. My mom does that every time and I don't know how she still believes I don't know about it" he laughed.

"Well that's what mothers do" Emily said and the kids laughed.

"So how was the movie?" Emily asked as she began driving.

"It was really good" Chloe said. They went to see 'Teenage Mutant ninja turtles".

"Do you guys wanna eat something? I'm starving" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said.

"What about you guys?" Bella asked.

"Sure. I just need to let my mom know" Chloe said picking up her phone.

"Yeah me too" Gavin said.

"Alright. So how about Olive Garden?" Emily asked.

"Perfect" Gavin and Bella said in unison and everyone laughed. Chloe called Hilary and Gavin called Colette to let them know they would stop to eat.

.

The dinner went great. Bella was a bit embarrassed but really happy to hang out with her mom and her friends. They laughed a lot at the jokes Gavin was telling and Emily was happy to see her daughter's humor going back to normal. She couldn't help but smile at how happy the three kids looked.

After dinner Emily took Gavin home and then headed to her building.

"Chlo. You should sleep over tonight." Bella said. "If you want to I mean" she blushed.

"Sure. I'd love to" Chloe smiled. "Is that okay Emily?" She asked.

"Of course sweetheart." Emily smiled. "We can stop at your house to get your things"

"Thanks" Chloe smiled.

It wasn't long till they arrived. They stopped at Chloe's apartment and Chloe asked Hilary to sleep at Bella's, of course Hilary said yes. She was beyond excited her daughter was going to a sleepover. Chloe got her things and then they went to Emily's apartment. They walked in and Bella asked Chloe "do you want some water?"

"No thanks" Chloe said.

"Take your things to my bedroom then. I'll be up in a sec" she said making a face as if she wanted to talk to her mother alone. Chloe understood and said "okay" and then headed upstairs.

"Did you have a good day?" Emily asked walking to the refrigerator to get the water.

"Yeah" Bella smiled sitting on the island.

"Your friends are really nice" Emily said.

"Yeah" Bella let out a laugh and Emily smiled. Emily poured water for them and they began drinking. Bella placed her glass down and said "today was really fun"

Emily smiled. "Maybe next time you can go in with us" Bella said and they laughed.

"I'm sorry baby. I just... I wasn't ready to let you be there alone" Emily said.

"I know." Bella said. "I thought you were waiting in the car anyways... At least I know you weren't sitting alone in the parking cause would have been awful"

"It would" Emily laughed and got close to Bella.

"I'm glad you had a nice day baby" Emily said and hugged Bella.

"Me too" Bella smiled. " well... I think I'm gonna get ready for bed" she said looking a bit tired already.

"Alright" Emily smiled and Bella went upstairs. Emily just sat there thinking about everything. After a while she could hear the girls giggling upstairs and she couldn't help but smile at that sound. She went up and changed into pajamas.

In Bella's bedroom the two girls were talking about what happened at school earlier that day and they couldn't help but laugh with the fact that Bella acted like that.

"I don't know what got into me." Bella said. "I guess it didn't feel too horrible I don't know. She was making fun of my boots and I guess that doesn't bother me anymore" she admitted.

"Yeah" Chloe smiled. "The other stuff that is really bad" she said.

"Yeah." Bella said. "Let's just hope they'll stop, right?"

"Yeah" Chloe said. "If they don't we have a security man now" Chloe let out a laugh and Bella laughed. Suddenly Emily walked in.

"Bella?" Emily said smiling.

"Yeah?" Bella said smiling at her mother.

"Do you guys wanna watch some tv?" Emily asked.

"Sure" the girls said getting off the bed.

"Well we should change first" Bella said.

"Okay. I'll be downstairs" Emily said and headed out.

The girls put on pajamas and then headed to the living room. They watched some shows on Comedy Central and ate some candy. It was almost midnight when Chloe said "I think we should sleep. It's pretty late"

"Yeah" Bella said. Isabella wasn't really tired but she could see her friend was. They said goodnight to Emily and went to bed.

Emily stayed downstairs for a while working on some paper work. Bella laid next to Chloe on the bed, they talked a bit about books and then Chloe fell asleep while Bella was talking. Isabella laughed when she realized Chloe was sleeping. She stayed laying there staring at the ceiling.

After a while Emily went upstairs and went to Bella's bedroom to check on the girls.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked when she saw Bella was still awake.

"Yeah. It's fine" Bella whispered but failing to sound convincing. Emily walked in and sat on the bed looking at Bella.

"Everything is okay. I promise, alright?" Bella whispered so Chloe wouldn't wake up and Emily nodded yes. "I love you" Emily whispered. "Goodnight"

"Goodnight mom. And I love you too" Bella said very low. Emily kissed Bella's forehead and tucked her in. Bella smiled sweetly and Emily went out. She went to bed and it wasn't long till she was asleep. In the other room Bella fought her eyes but soon lost the battle.

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(Saturday)

It's a little over 3 am when Isabella jumped with a scream "mom" she yelled and ran out of the room.

Chloe woke up scared not realizing what exactly happened. Bella was crying when she ran out the door and saw Emily already running towards her. She hugged her mom and just broke down. She couldn't help it and she hated it. She used to be so good with not crying and now it seemed like she had lost control of her eyes.

"It's okay. You're okay" Emily kept saying while picking Bella up and taking her back to bed. She sat on the bed with Bella on her lap and hugged her tight and looked at Chloe. Both could see they were both concerned with what happened.

"Honey it's okay" Emily said as Bella just cried.

"I want my dad" Bella sobbed. Emily's heart broke. She rocked Bella a little and started pushing some hair from her face. Chloe went and hugged them. She didn't knew what to say but she felt like she had to do something so she just hugged them and then sat up again just staring at Emily.

"it's going to be okay Bella. Your dad loves you very much. I know he wanted to be here too" Emily said holding her tears. Chloe was crying too now. She was feeling so bad for Bella.

"You can't leave me like him, okay? You can't" Bella cried. "I don't want to lose you too mommy" Bella said and Emily's heart sank. The girl sounded so little and scared.

"You're not losing me. You are not. Are you hearing me? You are not" Emily said serious. She pushed Bella to her side and laid in the middle of the bed taking Bella down with her. The girl was still crying and was trying to hide her face on her mother.

"Come on Chloe let's go back to sleep." Emily said and Chloe laid down.

"Shuuu shuuuu it's okay Bella. it's okay. I'm right here" Emily said. "It was just a bad dream. It wasn't real, okay?" she said running her hand on Bella's arm.

Isabella's crying went down slowly and after a while Emily realized Chloe was out again.

"Close your eyes, try to sleep baby" Emily said softly hugging Bella.

Isabella closed her eyes. She could still feel her face wet and she was so scared. It took about 30 minutes for her to finally drift to sleep.

Emily just stayed there hugging her daughter for a long time before her mind shut off and she slept too.

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Emily woke up and it was 8am. She smiled at the sight of Chloe hugging her and Bella with a tight grip on her shirt on the other side.

She took Bella's hand and Chloe's arm off of her and sneaked out of bed. She went downstairs to make breakfast. She decided to make scrambled eggs and toast.

About 15 minutes later Chloe woke up. She looked around the room and decided to stay in bed and wait for Bella so she picked a book that was laying on the nightstand and began to read it.

It wasn't long till Bella woke up.

"Hey" Chloe said. "Good morning"

"Hi" Bella said embarrassed. "Where's my mom?"

"I think she's cooking breakfast" Chloe said. She could smell the food. "Are you alright?" She asked worried.

"I guess so" Bella said blushing. Chloe could see she was embarrassed.

"Hey don't be embarrassed Bella. It was a nightmare. Everyone has one once in a while." She said.

"Well, what if you have one almost everyday?" Bella said sarcastically but sad at the same time.


	29. Chapter 29: Hello Uncle

"Well what if you have one almost everyday?" Bella said sarcastically but sad at the same time.

"I guess it happens... But it goes away eventually"

"Yeah I just really would love to know WHEN is eventually" Bella said looking sad.

"You really miss him, don't you?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah" Bella said quiet.

"Are you scared about your mom's work?" Chloe spitted out.

"Yeah." Bella said with tears filling her eyes. "It's just that... A lot of stuff can happen when she's working, you know. She can get hurt and even killed... and just thinking about it.." She said unable to finish as the tears started rolling.

"Bella your mom is very strong. I can see that and I know she's very good at what she does." Chloe said. "And look. Nothing ever happened to her why would it happen now?" She said.

"She has got hurt before Chlo" Bella said.

"But she's here and that's what matters" Chloe said. "Look I know you're scared but as she told you herself you are not losing her too, okay?... so don't worry to much about this. It's just her work. And people can get hurt anywhere anyways so it doesn't matter" Chloe said and Bella just sat there thinking that her friend did have a point.

"She's gonna be okay and her job is pretty amazing. She gets to help so many people Bella. Even us" Chloe said.

"She always said that" Bella said.

"Said what?" Chloe asked.

"She always said that she hunted the monsters so they wouldn't get near me." Bella said wiping a tear that rolled down her face.

"You're mom's a badass. She knows what she's doing" Chloe said whispering the world badass. "And you can always talk to me, okay? When you're scared about things. No matter how silly you think they are. You can tell me"

"Thanks" Bella said letting out a small smile.

They sat quiet for a while till Chloe said "oh my god this smell is killing me. Can we go eat?"

Bella let out a little laugh and said "sure" and they walked to the kitchen. 

When they got to the kitchen Emily said "we've got scrambled eggs and toasts and orange juice on the menu today ladies" they smiled at her and sat at the island. Emily put some on their plates and went to hug Bella.

"Feeling better?" She asked kissing Bella's cheek.

"Yeah" Bella whispered smiling shyly.

They ate and of course Isabella was still not eating well specially after the nightmare.

After breakfast Hilary called to let them know she was heading to the building's pool with Millie. They decided to join and went to get ready. Emily wasn't planing on getting in so she took a book to read. They went up to the pool and had a great time. Emily spent the day reading at a beach chair while Hilary worked at a table next to her and the 3 girls played in the pool. At lunch time they decided to order pizza and the girls were beyond excited.

Emily absolutely loved seeing Isabella having fun.

They stayed there till around 4 pm when Emily said they should head home. They said goodbye to Hilary and the girls and headed back to their apartment. Both took a shower and then sat to watch tv in the living room. For dinner they had sandwiches and then decided to play chess.

"Checkmate" Emily said happily.

"Nice one mom" Bella said looking tired.

"Oh great. I just won because you're tired. Thanks" Emily said and Bella laughed.

Isabella looked on her phone for the time and it was almost 9:30 and she was already tired.

"Mom, I think I'm gonna go read a little" she said standing up.

"Alright" Emily said. "Anything I'm in here watching tv" Emily said and Bella went upstairs.

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After about 15 minutes Emily decided to check on Bella and when she got to Isabella's bedroom Bella was sitting on the floor beside her bed crying with her head on her knees. Emily walked and sat next to her without saying a word. Bella hugged Emily and Emily ran her hand on Bella's arm. They staid like that till Isabella stopped crying.

"I'm sorry" she said once she stopped. She let go of Emily and wiped her face.

"What happened?" Emily asked serious. Bella saw on her mother's face that this time she wouldn't let go so she decided to go straight to the point.

"Is just that when I think about you traveling I start feeling bad... and sick. I don't know. I get scared mom" Bella said fighting new tears forming. "It's just that I'm scared you're not coming back. And I know that you're strong and a good agent and your team is there with you but you're my mom and you're all I've got and I don't wanna lose you." She said letting her tears fall.

Emily pulled Bella to her lap.

"I know you're scared and it's okay to be. But you can't let that stop or freeze you. You know? I know that things happen in the job I do and sometimes people get hurt a little but you're not going to lose me and we'll talk all the time, I promise you that. I'll text and you'll be with Garcia so I'll see you on the computer sometimes too. I promise you I'm not leaving" Emily said serious but soft.

"I'm just scared" Bella said.

"I know you are. I'm sorry" Emily said.

"I like that you protect people mom... and me too but you have to swear you'll protect yourself more anything." Bella said.

"I will Bells. I swear I will" Emily smiled and hugged Bella. "Look I don't wanna see you hiding this from me anymore, okay? If you're scared or feeling anything about my work just tell me. We'll see how things go this week, alright?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella agreed.

Emily smiled. "Okay now time for bed."

"What?" Bella asked confused, she didn't have a bed time.

"You look like you're about to sleep on your feet. Come on." Emily said getting up. She pulled Bella up by the arm and Bella got under the covers. She had already changed to pajamas earlier.

"Goodnight mom" Bella said.

"Goodnight bells. And anything just go get me" Emily said handing Tramp to the child and Bella nodded yes and hugged him. Emily gave Bella a kiss and tucked her in. "Sleep tight" she said and walked to turn the light off after turning the nightlight on. Then she headed out to her bedroom. She put on pajamas and sat on her bed and began reading one of the books on her nightstand. In the other room Bella didn't take long to fall asleep, she was tired from all the swimming and playing on the pool. 

Emily was lost on her book when her phone started ringing. It was Derek Shepherd, Isabella's godfather. They talked and Emily told him about Isabella being scared of her going back to work and how she felt horrible she was the reason the child was so afraid and upset and that she was even thinking about maybe getting another job instead of the BAU. He told her that Bella always understood her work and that she was always proud of it and that now it was normal for her to be scared and sad because she's not used to seeing it very close. He reminded Emily that Bella was used to seeing her dad everyday just doing surgery on people and his life was not at risk for doing that so she was of course bound to be a bit scared about Emily's job specially after losing John. They talked some more about Bella and how things were in Seattle and then Shepherd told her that he had some time off and he was thinking about going to DC to visit Bella.

"Oh that would be great. I'm sure she'll love that" Emily said.

"Alright." He said.

"How long are you planning to stay?" Emily asked.

"I can go tomorrow and leave on Tuesday" he said.

"Oh that would be perfect" Emily said. "I usually have to travel on Mondays and it will be good that you'll be here" she said. Shepherd agreed and said he would happily watch Bella on Monday when Emily was gone. He was excited to see Bella again and Emily was happy the kid would see her godfather. They talked some more and Emily mentioned she was planning to take Bella to Seattle on the next weekend and then they hung up.

She brushed her teeth and went to bed.

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(Sunday)

Emily woke up and went looking for Bella. She couldn't wait to tell the girl that Shepherd was coming over. She went to Isabella's bedroom to find Bella reading a book on the floor next to her bed.

"Good morning" Emily said walking in.

"Morning mom" Bella said.

"I have great news" Emily said sitting next to Bella on the floor.

"What news?" Bella asked sitting up.

"Your uncle Derek is coming today" Emily smiled.

"What? Godfather Derek? Shepherd Not Morgan?" Bella asked.

"Yes. Shepherd." Emily let out a laugh.

"Why is he coming?" Bella asked surprised with the news.

"He has some time off and he wants to see you" Emily said.

"Time off? How long is he staying mom?" Bella asked excited.

"Till Tuesday"

"Oh my god really?!" Bella smiled big and Emily nodded yes.

"Are you excited?"

"Yeah" Bella smiled.

"You can finally go bowling with him" Emily said.

"Yeah" Bella nodded yes excited and stood up. "I need to clean my room" she said. Emily laughed and stood up.

"It looks pretty clean to me" Emily said.

"No I need to CLEAN it" Bella said making a wide eyed face as she said clean. Emily laughed.

"Alright I'm gonna let you clean your cleaned room then" Emily laughed and walked out of the room.

Isabella spent about 20 minutes putting some things away from her desk and her vanity, she made the bed and took some things off the floor. She really cleaned the place. When she was done she headed to get breakfast. She ate cereal and then went to sit with Emily in the living room. They had been watching tv for a while when Shepherd called Isabella's phone.

"Hi" Bella said.

"Hello!" He greeted.

"What's the address of the building?" He asked and Bella told him. He said he would be there soon and they hung up.

"He's on his way" Bella said smiling. They kept watching tv till Shepherd got there. Once he was there Isabella was all smiles. She really missed him.

They talked a lot about Bella's "new life" in DC and how everyone in Seattle was doing. Isabella happily gave him a tour of the apartment before they headed out for lunch. They ate at a local restaurant called 'great lodge' and then headed to the park. Isabella loved that place and she knew Shepherd would like it too. They walked for a while talking about Isabella's school and Emily's work, Shepherd and Emily noticed Bella tensed when traveling was mentioned. He said he wanted to go bowling at night, just Bella and him like the old times. Bella said of course she would love to and then decided to take him to sit by the lake at the bench she now called hers.

They watched the ducks swimming and the people on the other side of the lake. Isabella truly loved that place. When they left the park it was almost 4pm. They went home and just chilled.

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Around 7, Shepherd and Bella headed to the bowling place. They walked there because it was just a block from the building.

"So are you liking DC?" He asked on their way there.

"Yeah. It's a cool town. I miss Seattle a little bit but it's cool here" she said with a little smile.

"Good" He smiled and grabbed her hand.

"We could go somewhere tomorrow after school" Derek said. "You can invite your friends"

"Sure ... can't we just go the two of us?" Bella asked "I don't think my mom is gonna be in town anyways so we could just go together" she said.

"Sure" Shepherd smiled. He saw a door to bring the work into the conversation which he thought was good since Emily wasn't there.

"So how are you feeling about your mom's work?" He asked and Bella just stayed quiet.

"You're scared to death, aren't you?" He said and Bella let out a small smile.

"Is it that obvious?" She said embarrassed.

"I thought you were going to be scared" he said. "And it's okay to be"

"Yeah. My mom already told me that like a million times" she said smiling. "It's just too much sometimes " she said.

"I know." Shepherd said. "But you're tough kid and you're mom... lets not even get started she's a fucking badass" He said whispering the word fucking.

Bella smiled.

"She'll be just fine" he said and they smiled.

The rest of the walk was quiet till they got to the bowling place. They had a lot of fun together. Shepherd won but Bella didn't really care. They had French fries and mini hot-dogs for dinner while they were playing so after the game was over they headed back to the apartment.

When they entered the elevator a familiar voice screamed "hold it". Shepherd held the elevator and Chloe went inside.

"Hi Bella" she said holding a big bag of dog food.

"Hi" Bella smiled. "This is my godfather Derek. He's visiting from Seattle" Bella said.

"Hi" Chloe said. "I'm Chloe."

"Chloe. That friend I told you about" Bella said smiling at them and Shepherd nodded. Isabella had texted him about her friends.

"So why do you have dog food? You don't have a dog" Bella affirmed confused.

"Guess what Millie got for her birthday" Chloe smiled big.

"Really? She got a dog?" Bella smiled and Shepherd just stood there smiling at the sight of the two friends talking.

"Yeah. He's so tiny. He's just a puppy. He's name is Bowie." Chloe said.

"Bowie? That's cute" Bella laughed.

"My mom picked the name" Chloe smiled.

"It's adorable" Bella said.

"Do you wanna go see him?" Chloe said.

"Sure!" Bella said all exited and then looked at Shepherd. "Can we stop by really quick?" She asked.

"Sure we can" He laughed.

"Yay" Bella said excited.

Soon the elevator stopped at Chloe's floor and the three walked out. They went to Chloe's apartment and walked in.

"Hi" Hilary said. "So you heard about the dog already?" Hilary laughed.

"We met in the elevator" Chloe said.

"Oh I thought you really went up to tell her" Hilary said.

"I was going to after I dropped the food here" Chloe smiled and Hilary and Bella laughed.

"Well Hilary this is my godfather Derek Shepherd. He's visiting from Seattle. And Derek this is Chloe's mom Hilary" Bella said. Derek smiled and shook Hilary's hand. Isabella had also told him about her.

Suddenly Millie walked in the room followed by an adorable white puppy.

"Oh my god he's adorable" Isabella said kneeing down to pet the little puppy who was jumping all excited.

"Hi Bowie" she said in her 'talking to a dog voice'

"He's really cute right?!" Chloe said kneeing down next to Bella to pet the dog too.

"He's a Canadian shepherd. He'll get a little bigger then I originally wanted but he was just too cute to not bring home" Hilary said.

Isabella played with the dog for a bit and then they headed back to the apartment, it was a school night and it was getting late.

"Mom!" Bella said running inside the apartment. Emily looked over at her from the couch. "What?" she asked a bit scared. "What happened?"

"Calm down mom. It's nothing" Bella said weirded out by her mother strange reaction and sat down on the couch. "Well it is something" she said "Millie got a puppy for her birthday. He's so cute" Bella smiled. Shepherd locked the door and went to the living room to sit.

"He really is a cute dog" He said.

"He's name is Bowie. Hilary picked out" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"That's cute" Emily said. "Well I can see you're excited about the dog but how about a shower? It's a school night and it's getting late" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said jumping off the couch and running upstairs.

"I'll be up soon" Emily screamed as Bella ran up.

"Okay" Bella screamed back. Bella took a shower while Emily and Shepherd talked about how bowling was and about the dog.

"I just hope she doesn't beg you for a dog now" Shepherd said.

"She's got the cat" Emily said.

"The cat doesn't even care about her Em" He laughed.

"He doesn't care about anyone. He's royal you know" Emily said looking over at the cat passed out on the head of the couch. They laughed. 

After a while Emily went upstairs to tuck Bella in. She found Bella already laying in bed. She was texting Cameron.

"Time to sleep. Come on" Emily said siting on the bed and starting to tuck Bella in. Isabella texted bye to Cam and put her phone in the nightstand to charge.

"Mom?" She asked shyly.

"Yes" Emily said sitting on the bed, hoping that Bella wouldn't ask for a dog.

"Tomorrow if you have to travel you need to call me, okay? Give me news throughout the day so I know you're okay. Alright?" Bella said feeling her eyes watering.

"I promise I will." Emily gave Bella a warm smile.

"And do I go to the office or do I hang out with Derek?" Bella said.

"You can hang out with him. He said he wanted to go around the city with you tomorrow" Emily said.

"Okay. But you'll call?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. Of course I will. Don't worry" Emily said taking Bella's hair of her face. "I love you, you know that?" Emily said smiling.

"I love you too mom" Bella managed a small smile. Emily kissed Bella's forehead and said goodnight and left. She stayed up watching tv with Shepherd and talking about work and stuff. Later they went to bed.

Shepherd slept on the couch in the living room.

Before going to bed Emily checked to see if Bella was asleep and she was passed out hugging her stuffy, Tramp, and her blanket. Emily figured the thoughts and worries on the child's head were scaring her.

She covered the child up and just hoped the next day would go okay.


	30. Chapter 30: First Case

(Monday)

Emily woke up with the alarm clock. She woke Bella up and they got ready really fast. Isabella's first class was P.E and she was not exited about that at all.

"Mom" she said when she got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Good morning Bella" Shepherd said.

"Good morning" Bella smiled and turned to Emily "Can you help me with my hair? We need to have it up for P.E"

"Sure. Come here" Emily said and Bella walked over there. The girl was feeling very nervous and Emily could see that.

Emily was nervous too, especially about traveling on cases again but she couldn't let anyone see that, specially Bella.

Emily did two French braids on Bella's hair cause that was the only thins that didn't fall if she moved too much so it was good for PE. Isabella thanked her and sat at the island to eat breakfast. Shepherd placed a plate with pancakes in front of her. She made a face realizing the amount of food.

"Unm... I can't eat all of this" she said.

"I'm sure half goes down" Emily smiled and Shepherd let out a laugh. Bella didn't think that was funny.

She managed to shove half the food down her throat and drank a bit of apple juice. When she was done she ran upstairs before anyone could say anything.

"So she's still not eating much?" Shepherd asked.

"Not really but she's trying Derek" Emily said. She was concerned about the food too and Isabella did lose wait but she knew that was just a matter of time and she didn't want to be pushing Bella about the food all the time.

Shepherd smiled and they finished eating. Suddenly Bella went down with her bag all ready to go.

"Mom it's 7:30. I'm gonna be late" Isabella said. Emily shoved the last bite of pancake, grabbed her bag and ran out the door.

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The drive to school was quiet, Isabella was still pretty sleepy.

When Emily parked Isabella unbuckled and hugged Emily.

The hug lasted longer than usual.

"Hey. I'll see you soon, okay?" Emily said. She knew exactly why the girl was taking so long.

"Okay" Bella said letting go of the hug. She looked straight at Emily's eyes. "Call me please." she said serious trying to push away the tears forming.

"I will. Don't worry" Emily said smiling trying to push her daughter's fears and her owns away.

"I love you mom" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily smiled.

"Be safe" they both said in unison and laughed.

"Bye honey" Emily said as Bella stepped out of the car.

"Bye" Bella smiled and walked to the school entrance. As always she looked back and smiled with the sight of Emily's car parked waiting for her to go in. She turned around and Chloe was right there.

"Hey!" Chloe said.

"Hi" Bella said surprised.

"So did you have a good night?" Chloe asked knowing Bella could probably have had a horrible one.

"It was okay I guess. No nightmares if that's what you want to know" Bella said blushing.

"Good" Chloe smiled and grabbed Bella's arm. "Let's go. Your first PE." Chloe laughed pushing Bella through the hall as they headed to the basketball court. Bella didn't like PE but that class wasn't so bad. The teacher divided the class in boys and girls and they did warm ups for a while. And then the boys played basketball while the girls watched and then they inverted. Isabella didn't really touch the ball too much, she stayed as far away from the game as she could. After PE they had a big break so they could shower and get ready for the next class. After the big break the bell rang and it was time for lunch. Isabella was hungry so for the first time she bought real food at school, well if you can call a hamburger a real food.

She ate all of it and drank half of her sprite.

"I see PE made you hungry" Gavin joked and the girls laughed. Suddenly Bella's phone rang. It was Emily.

"Hello?" Bella said.

"Hi honey it's mom" Emily said.

"I know" Bella smiled and Emily laughed.

"Well we are on the plane right now about to take off, okay?" Emily said taking a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know how long we'll be there but I'll give you news don't worry" Emily said looking at Derek Morgan who seemed concerned.

"Where exactly are you going?" Isabella asked trying to sound like it was no big deal, but tears had already formed in her eyes.

"Little rock, Arkansas" Emily answered.

"And what's the case?" Bella asked trying to push away the tears that threatened to fall. Emily was silent processing the question. Isabella had shown interest in knowing what Emily did before but never like that.

"Well I Unm..." She began "I don't think it's a really good idea me telling you that" Emily said.

"Well thanks. Now you left me even more scared" Isabella said.

"Oh honey it's not one of those big crazy ones, don't worry. Alright?" Emily said and smiled at Derek smiling at her. "I don't want you too involved with this stuff, okay?" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said understanding what Emily meant. JJ signed to Emily that they would take off.

"Well Bells I gotta go now" Emily said.

"Okay. Be safe"

"I will and you too. Love you kid" Emily said.

"Love you too mom, bye" Bella said and they hung up.

"So?" Chloe asked.

"She's heading to Arkansas. Don't have any idea when she's coming back. Yay" Bella said with a sarcastic yay in the end, wiping a tear that had escaped.

"She'll be back soon. Don't cry" Gavin said.

"i know. it's fine" Bella said serious.

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In the airplane Emily placed her phone on her lap and put the seatbelt on.

"So how did she take it?" Reid asked sitting next to Emily.

"She asked where exactly I was going and what was the case about" Emily said.

"Did you tell her about the case?" JJ said making a face.

"Of course not. She'll be even more freaked out" Emily said.

"You know that when she stays with Penelope she'll know right?" Derek pointed.

"Yeah I know. It's just that this is the first one for her and I don't want to scare her even more than she already is." Emily said. They talked a bit more about the matter and the plane took off.

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At the school, after lunch they had biology and then geography. The time at school went better then Bella expected. No bullies came to talk to them which they were truly happy about.

After the last bell rang Isabella walked out with her two friends and suddenly she saw her uncle Derek at the door waiting for her. She smiled and walked to him.

"Hi" he said hugging her. "Did you have a good day?" He asked.

"Yeah" Bella said letting go of the hug.

"Hi Chloe" Shepherd said and hugged Chloe who blushed.

"Uncle Derek this is my friend Gavin" Bella said.

"Hi" Gavin said and shook Shepherd's hand.

"Well Chloe I talked to your mom and I'll drive you and your sister back home today so you guys won't need to take the bus" Shepherd said. He had a rented car.

"thanks" Chloe said smiling.

"We should go get Millie" Bella said. They said their goodbye to Gavin who had to take the bus and headed to Millie's class.

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The drive home was fun. The kids were talking about their day and Shepherd loved seeing Bella just be a regular kid. They took the girls to Hilary's apartment and then headed to Emily's.

"Go shower and get ready cause we'll go on a little tour today" Shepherd said all excited. Bella smiled and headed to the shower. They both got ready and went out.

.

They walked around DC like two crazy tourists and had so much fun.

Around 5:30 Emily called.

"Hello?" Bella said.

"Hi bells" Emily said. "How is everything?"

"It's good. I feel like we've been to every corner of this city" Bella said smiling at Shepherd. Emily laughed but her laugh was very soon silenced by what she had to say.

"Well I just called to let you know we're not going back tonight. We might need to stay here another day" Emily said and Isabella didn't say anything. She was feeling so sad.

"I'm sorry honey" Emily said.

"It's okay mom. I knew you probably would have to" Bella admitted trying to sound okay with it but the truth was that she was holding her tears. Shepherd threw his arm around her shoulder knowing it was bad news.

"We're working hard to get him so we can go home as soon as possible, okay? and Don't worry I'm fine and the team is okay too" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said hiding the hurt.

"Anything just call. Okay Bells?" Emily said.

"Okay mom" Bella said serious.

"I love you " Emily said.

"I love you too. See you soon" Bella said as a tears escaped from her eye but her voice still sounded normal.

"See you soon" Emily said and they hung up.

The moment Bella hung up she broke down. Shepherd took the phone out of her hand and picked her up.

"It's okay baby" he said. "She'll be back soon" He said knowing that was why she was crying. Bella let go of him and wiped her face.

"Let's go. We still have one museum to go" Bella said pulling him.

They walked around some more and Shepherd tried his best to keep Bella occupied.

After seeing everything He had planned to see they went to eat some burritos at a food truck. It was really good but Bella was feeling sick so she didn't finish hers. After eating they headed home. Isabella decided to take another shower since she walked so much. So she showered and went to the living room to tell Shepherd goodnight.

"My flight is tomorrow at 8 am. So I'll drop you off at school and then I'll go, okay?" He said.

"Alright" She said. "Thank you for coming here" she said shyly.

"You are very welcome" he smiled and hugged her. "Goodnight" he said and Bella stood up. Suddenly she felt like she needed to be tucked in. Something she didn't feel like it forever.

"uncle Derek?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind tucking me in?" She shyly asked.

"Tuck you in?" He asked confused because years had gone by since he did that to Bella.

"Yeah. My mom does it and I just .." She said embarrassed.

"Come on" he smiled and got up.

They walked to the bedroom and Bella got in the bed. He tucked her in and he could see she was really embarrassed. He turned the nightlight on and the bedroom light off.

"Goodnight Bella" he said walking out of the room and slightly closing the door.

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It took a long time for Bella to sleep that night. She just kept thinking about her mom, if she was okay, if she would be home soon, all of that. Suddenly her phone beeped and it was a text from Emily.

'Hi Bella. Just to let you know we headed to a hotel. We'll resume the case tomorrow. Everyone is really tired now. Don't worry about me I'm okay. I'll see you soon. I love you. Xx Mom'

Bella smiled at the message and replied.

'I love you too. Sleep tight and I see you soon. Be safe. Xo Bells :)'

In Arkansas Emily smiled at the fast and cute reply she got. She put her phone to charge and laid in bed.

Isabella did the same thing and started forcing herself to think happy thoughts so she could sleep.

After about 13 minutes she was out.

It was almost 2 am when Shepherd went up to Bella's bedroom to check on her before heading to bed too. Isabella was fast asleep hugging her stuffed animal and she had her hand beneath her pillow. He smiled knowing she was holding her blanket. Then he headed to the couch. He was feeling happy to see that Bella was adapting well to the new life but he could tell she seemed way more emotional than she was before. He knew that her being scared of Emily's work was normal and it was very likely to go away eventually. He felt excited about telling Jeremy how Bella was doing good and to show him all the cool and happy pictures they took that day. It wasn't long till he fell asleep too.


	31. Chapter 31: She's Back!

**(Tuesday)**

Isabella woke up with the alarm clock. She got ready for school and had breakfast. She decided to change backpacks so she got one of her old ones that she used to use at boarding school. When she opened it she found one of her father's scrub caps, a dark blue one with constellations on it.

She stared at it for a while remembering seeing her dad wearing it. She felt her eyes start to burn but pushed away the tears before Shepherd could see her like that. She put the cap back on the bag and placed her things inside.

Suddenly Shepherd appeared at the door.

"Hey. Someone wants to talk to you" Shepherd said handing the phone to Bella.

"Hello?" Isabella said.

"It's me" Emily said.

"Hi. Are you coming back?" Isabella asked really fast and excited.

"Oh not yet baby" Emily said feeling and sounding sorry and Bella looked down sad. "But I'll be home soon" Emily promised.

"So why did you call?" Isabella asked.

"To say good morning" Emily said with a smile. She loved hearing her girl's voice even though she could tell she was a little upset.

"Good morning then" Bella said managing a small smile.

"Well, also I wanted to tell you to go to the office after school, okay? Penelope will be waiting for you there." Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"We gotta go" Shepherd told Bella.

"Mom I have to go or I'm gonna be late" Isabella said.

"Alright. Have fun at school and I'll see you soon baby" Emily said.

"See you soon" Bella said.

"Bye" Emily said.

"Be careful" Bella said really fast.

"I will pumpkin" Emily said. "Bye"

"Bye" Bella said and they hung up. She got her backpack and walked to the door.

"Are you alright?" Shepherd asked.

"Yup" she lied. "Let's go. I don't wanna be late"

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Shepherd drove Bella to school and they promised to see each other soon. He headed to the airport and she headed to class.

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School was great.

Bella, Gavin and Chloe just hung out and talked when they weren't paying attention or when they were on a break. Isabella really liked her friends. For their luck the bullies didn't say anything that day, they just stared at them sometimes and whispered things to each other.

When the last bell rang Gavin ran for the school's theater and the two girls headed outside. Chloe got on her bus first and then Bella headed to hers. She was very nervous of staying just her and Penelope and she really hoped her mom would go back that day.

"Hello my tiny sugarplum" Penelope said walking fast to Bella and hugging her as she entered the BAU.

"I am super busy so let's hang out at my office, alright?" Penelope said.

"Okay" Bella smiled shyly and followed Penelope to her lair.

"Make yourself at home pumpkin" Garcia said pointing to the couch. Isabella sat on the couch and got her homework out. She had been working on it for a while when Derek Morgan called Penelope.

"Hey baby girl can you work some magic for me?" He said and Bella smiled at the way he talked.

"Of course I can my love" Penelope said flirty. Bella let out a laugh and Derek heard.

"Is Bella with you?" He asked.

"Yup." Penelope smiled.

"Hey kid" he said and Bella said hey. "Garcia you might need Unm.." He said.

"Bellie, can you give us a minute?" Penelope asked. She also thought it would be best if Bella didn't hear too much of the case or see anything she shouldn't.

"Sure" Bella said. "Is it okay if I sit at my mom's desk?" She asked.

"Of course little P. Go ahead" Penelope smiled and Bella headed out with her homework in hands.

Derek sent some pictures to Penelope so she could enhance it and they were not pretty.

.

After about 40 minutes they had catch the unsub.

They were on the plane when Emily called Bella.

"Hey baby" Emily said when Bella answered the phone.

"Hi mom" Bella smiled. Emily had texted her throughout the day giving little updates about things but they hadn't actually talked.

"we're on the plane. I'll be there in a couple of hours, okay?" Emily said.

"Really?!" Bella said excited.

Emily smiled big.

"Yeah, I'll be home soon." Emily said. "I talked to Penelope and she's gonna take you home and wait with you there, okay?"

"Alright" Bella said smiling big. She was so happy Emily was going back home.

"Okay. I'll see you soon. Be good"

"I will. Bye" Bella said.

"Bye" Emily said and they hung up.

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The flight didn't take long. Bella and Penelope just had dinner and hung out. Penelope made Bella get ready for bed and then they sat in the living room to watch a movie.

It was almost 9:40 when the door opened. Emily walked in and Bella got off the couch and ran to her.

"Mom" she called hugging Emily's waste.

Emily hugged Isabella tight. "I missed you" Emily said.

"Me too" Bella smiled letting go of the hug with tears in her eyes.

"See, your mom is perfectly fine munchkin" Penelope said walking to them and Bella smiled embarrassed.

Emily put her bag on the kitchen counter and walked to Bella.

"Come here" she said and picked the girl up. Isabella rested her head on Emily's shoulder.

"Did you have a good day?" Emily asked her.

"Yeah" Bella said. She was so happy to have her mom back.

Emily took her to the couch and they just hugged and talked about the day.

.

After a while Penelope left and Emily went to take a shower while Bella watched 'doctor who'. A while later she walked to the living room to find Bella passed out on the couch. She walked over to the couch and kneed down in front of Bella's face.

"Bella?" She said softly running her hand on Bella's cheek and forehead. "Hey. Baby. Let's go to bed" Emily said and Bella opened her eyes and gave her a little smile.

"Hi" Emily smiled. "Let's go to bed honey" she said softly and Bella sat up.

"Come on" Emily said grabbing Bella's hand and helping her up. They went upstairs and at the top of the stairs Bella said "mom? Can I stay with you?"

"Of course you can" Emily said. "Come on" she smiled and they headed to Emily's bedroom. Emily tucked Bella in and said she would eat something for dinner and then would go to bed.

"I wanna go with you" Bella said pushing the covers away.

Emily grabbed it and covered her up again.

"I'll be back soon honey. I'm just gonna eat. I'm not going anywhere, I'll be downstairs" Emily said.

"10 minutes?" Bella said. She didn't want Emily to be away from her.

"Sure. I'll be back in 10" Emily smiled and kissed Isabella's forehead. "Try to sleep. I'll be right back."

Bella nodded yes and Emily left.

Later when Emily returned the little girl was fast asleep. The child felt like she could relax with her mother home, she hated spending the night with Shepherd.

Emily laid next to Bella and pulled the covers up. She fell asleep while petting Bella's hair.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Emily woke up with the alarm clock and Bella didn't even move. She had her face buried in her mother's belly.

"Bells?" Emily said softly waking Bella up. "Let's get up baby"

Isabella opened her eyes and looked at Emily's face. " five more minutes" she begged.

"Just five" Emily smiled and hugged Bella. They stayed quiet, hugging for a little over 5 minutes when Emily said "now we gotta go honey. Or we'll be late"

"Oh nooo" Bella mumbled.

"Come on, let's go" Emily said sitting up and bringing Bella up with her.

They got up and headed to change.

Emily showered and Bella was too tired so she just changed into school clothes, combed her hair and then walked to the living room. She sat on the couch to wait for Emily.

After about 20 minutes Emily headed downstairs all ready, she found Bella asleep on the couch hugging her backpack. She let out a laugh and headed to the kitchen. She poured some cereal into a bowl with milk and grabbed her coffee before heading to the couch.

"Bella?" She said smiling. "Come eat breakfast"

Bella opened her eyes and smiled embarrassed seeing Emily sitting close to her with a bowl in her hand. She sat up and grabbed the bowl. Emily sat next to Bella and drank her coffee.

After both were finished they headed out.

"Are you going away on a case today?" Isabella asked hoping for a no.

"I'm not sure but probably not. We have a lot of paper work to do" Emily said. After a case they always got filled with paper work.

Isabella just smiled a little but didn't say anything.

They got to the car and the drive was good. Bella was super tired and almost feel asleep on the way to the school.

"I'll be waiting at the office for you after school but anything I'll call or text to let you know, okay?" Emily said as she parked the car.

"Okay" Bella smiling and unbuckling. She hugged Emily tight.

"Bye Bells" Emily said smiling.

"Bye mom" Bella smiled and stepped out of the car. She didn't see Chloe outside so she imagined her friend was already in or was just late, so she walked to the entrance and as always stopped to look back at Emily's car. She smiled and got in. She walked through the main entrance and headed to her class. Before she could make to the classroom those 4 girls appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey Shrimpy" Vanessa said with a mean face coming in front of Bella making her stop. "So where are your friends? Did they leave you already?"

Isabella stayed quiet.

"So what's the deal with you?" Vanessa asked.

"What?" Bella asked confused with the question.

"Apparently when we're not together you talk back" Yuna said. "And let me tell ya" she took a breath "we do not accept that"

"You better keep your little mouth shut" Vanessa said.

"Why should I? I just don't get this. I've never done anything to you" Isabella said.

"Shut up" Yuna said serious and Bella just stared.

"You better behave" Vanessa said.

"As if you were" Bella said low.

"You better be really good or there will be consequences and they won't be pretty" Vanessa said coming closer to Bella with every word. Isabella just stared. She was really scared but she had a blank face, just like Cameron taught her.

"You don't want the entire school to know about your daddy do you? Or about your mommy and her weird work and all. Do you?" Vanessa said and Bella stayed quiet feeling her eyes start to burn.

"Yeah I thought so" Vanessa said laughing and they walked away.

Isabella was frozen there. She couldn't believe those girls were using her parents to bully her. She hated it. She could feel she was about to cry so she headed to the bathroom. She washed her face and headed to class. She found Gavin already there but Chloe wasn't. They didn't talk much during the geography class and on the second period Chloe showed up.

"Why are you late?" Gavin asked.

"Millie woke up sick this morning. We stopped at the emergency room" Chloe said.

"Is she alright?" Bella asked a little worried but not showing it with her face.

"Yeah. They think it's just the flu" Chloe said. "and what's with you?" Chloe asked.

"nothing. im fine" Bella said and smiled.

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The day went by fast.

At lunch break Chloe asked about Emily being back at work. Bella admitted she was still scared and Gavin was fascinated by Emily's job.

Bella ate just chips again and when the bell rang they went back to class.

.

When school was done Isabella went to the BAU. She did her homework on Reid's desk while Emily worked. When she was finished she hung out with Penelope and around 6 they headed home. Bella went straight to the shower and Emily went to cook dinner. She made chicken and a salad and left it all on the table and went for a quick shower. After showering she went to get Bella.

Isabella was reading 'Harry Potter' on the floor next to her bed when Emily walked in.

"So I see you have a reading spot" Emily said smiling and Bella smiled at her.

"Come on, dinner's ready" Emily said and they headed to the kitchen.

The dinner went okay. Bella wasn't hungry but she made an effort to eat. They talked a bit about school and Bella didn't mention the bullying was still going on. They talked about going to Seattle on the weekend and Emily said that if she didn't have a case that they'd go but if she did then they'd postpone it to the next weekend.

Bella ate almost everything on her plate but she still felt sick whenever she ate. She didn't really know why. She felt like all the thoughts about her father and her mother's work ran back to her mind whenever she was eating. She just hated it.

After dinner they watched tv and out of nowhere Bella went to her bedroom to get her "Harry Potter" book. She was almost done with it. She went back to the living room and sat on the couch next to Emily.

"That's probably the best homework ever" Emily said and Bella laughed.

Isabella began reading it and in 10 minutes she was done. Emily looked at the clock and said "think it's time for bed"

"Okay" Bella said with a little smile. "Will you tuck me in?" She asked shyly.

"Sure" Emily smiled.

"My bed or yours?" Emily asked.

"Mine is fine tonight" Bella said embarrassed and Emily smiled.

"Alright let's go" Emily said picking the girl up.

Isabella laughed and said "mom, you know i can walk, right?"

"I ca walk too"Emily said and carried the girl upstairs.

When they got to the room, Emily placed Bella on the bed and the girl laid down and Emily sat next to her.

"So what are you going to read next?" Emily asked.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"We can buy some new books if you want" Emily said.

"Yup" Bella smiled.

"Sleep tight" Emily said giving Bella a kiss on the cheek.

"You too" Bella said with a little smile.

"Anything just go get me" Emily said and Bella nodded yes.

"Goodnight" Emily said and stood up.

"Goodnight mom" Bella said and Emily went out.

Emily went to her bedroom to go to bed too. She was tired.

She laid down and read a little before falling asleep. She slept with the book on her hands.

In the other room Bella was still awake. She was thinking about it all. She felt like she wanted to go back to her old life so bad. Of course she loved her mother and she loved having her around but she just missed her dad so much. When she was in boarding school she missed him really bad but it was different because she knew she would see him soon but now she knew he was gone and that was it. She knew he would never come back and she was scared and sad and a little mad about everyone lying to her. She had started thinking a lot about that a couple of nights before and she did feel upset about the lying. She understood they wanted to protect her but she couldn't help but think about all the things she would have done differently. She tried hard to push those thoughts away and go to sleep. It was a hard fight but she did it. Luckily she didn't have any nightmares that night.


	32. Chapter 32: 1st Night At Aunt Penelope's

**(Thursday)**

Isabella woke up before the alarm went off. She went to Emily's bedroom to see if her mom was awake. She walked in to find Emily sleeping with a book on her chest. Bella smiled thinking about all the times her parents walked in on her like that.

She left the room, checked her backpack to see if she had everything for the day and once again the scrub cap was just there looking at her. She grabbed it and she didn't even know why but she smelled it. Her eyes watered as the sent reminded her of her father. She shoved the cap back inside her bag and wiped away her tears.

She put her bag on the bed and went to take a shower.

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Emily woke up with the alarm clock and placed the book on the nightstand. She got out of bed and heard Isabella's shower on. She showered too and then got dressed and headed to Isabella's bedroom. She found Bella combing her hair in front of the vanity.

"Good morning" Emily said walking to Bella to give her a hug.

"Good morning mom" Bella smiled and Emily hugged her from behind.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Emily asked still hugging Bella and using the mirror to look at her.

"I don't know. I'm not really hungry" Bella said.

"How about pancakes?" Emily asked smiling.

"Cereal is fine mom really" Bella said and stood up.

"You need to eat better hun" Emily said concern.

"I'm trying to, okay?" Bella said upset.

"Hey" Emily said pulling Bella into a hug.

"I know you are" she said.

"Cereal is food too" Bella said letting go of the hug.

"I know" Emily let out a laugh. "Let's go." She said and they went downstairs to the kitchen. Isabella sat at the island and Emily poured some Cheerios with milk for both of them.

"Are you eating this too?" Bella asked. Usually Emily just had coffee in the morning.

"Cereal is food too, you know" Emily joked and Bella couldn't help but laugh.

"Funny you mother" Bella said smiling. "Very funny"

Emily laughed and they ate their cereal. Once they were done they headed out.

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The car ride was fine, they talked about the classes Bella had and Emily said she would stop at the bookstore later at night with Bella if she wanted and the girl said yes.

When Emily parked the car, Isabella saw Gavin and Chloe waiting for her close to the playground.

They smiled when they saw the car.

"Anything just call, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella agreed unbuckling.

"Be good." Emily said.

"yup" Bella said.

"Always." Emily smiled. "Love you baby" she said and kissed Bella's cheek. Bella kissed her back and headed out.

"Bye mom" she said stepping out of the car.

"Bye. Have a good day" Emily said and Bella smiled and walked to her friends. Emily was just loving to see that smile so often. Everything she was getting to do with her daughter felt like a blessing, even just dropping the child off at school felt good. It felt like what a mother was supposed to do and she didn't get to do it for 10 years.

When Isabella got there she looked back at the car and waved to Emily as saying she could go.

.

"Cool shoes" Gavin said noticing Isabella's black doc martins.

"Thanks" she said embarrassed.

"I saw a glittery one at the mall" Chloe said. "It was so cute"

Isabella smiled and said "you should get it. I can see you wearing one of those"

"I don't no. Maybe" Chloe smiled and they walked to the entrance and headed to science class.

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The day at the school went fast. They just payed attention to the classes and hung out during breaks and lunch.

It was 3:14 when Bella got a text from Emily.

'Hi bells. We are heading out of town for a case. Penelope will be waiting for you in the office. Text me when you get there. See you soon. Love, mom.'

"Oh great" Bella whispered after reading the text.

"What happened?" Chloe whispered because the teacher was talking.

"My mom has a case" Bella answered looking upset.

"Oh" Chloe and Gavin said and the teacher heard.

"Hey you three. No talking" the art teacher, Miss Rey, said and Gavin said sorry while Chloe and Bella just looked embarrassed. The teacher continued with the lesson for a little while till the bell rang. The trio walked out of class.

"Well Bel, You have to go by yourself today" Gavin said. "My mother is picking me up. We're going to the mall."

"Okay" Bella said.

"Well so I see you two tomorrow" He said.

"You sure do" Chloe smiled and they started walking.

Suddenly Bella stopped.

"Guys you can go. I'm gonna go to the bathroom really quick. " Bella said.

"I can wait" Chloe said.

"It's alright" Bella said. "Go home. Oh and text me how Millie is doing today" Bella said. Millie was still a bit sick so she didn't go to school.

"Okay. Bye" Chloe said and she and Gavin walked away.

Bella headed to the bathroom, she locked the door and opened her backpack. She could feel her heart beating strong and fast since she got that text from Emily. She opened her bag and got the scrub cap out. She smelled it again and didn't even bother to fight the tears forming in her eyes. She just missed him so bad. She wanted to hug him, and kiss him. She just wanted him to hold her again. She stayed there and just let herself cry.

After a while she heard someone walking in so she put the cap on her bag, wiped her face, flushed the toilet and walked out. She washed her hands and her face and headed to the bus stop.

.

When she got to the BAU, Penelope was waiting for her at the entrance. She hugged Bella and couldn't help but see the child's eyes looked a bit swollen and red. They went up. Once they got to Penelope's office, Bella placed her things next to the couch on the floor and sat on the couch.

"Were you crying?" Penelope asked sitting on her chair and turning to Bella.

"no." Bella said.

"are you sure?" Penelope asked knowing the girl was lying.

"Yup." Bella said. "Well I have a lot of homework today" Bella said changing the subject.

"Make yourself at home my little sugarplum" Penelope smiled and Bella got her homework out and texted Emily that she was at the office already. She finished everything then had some snacks with Penelope, it was pretty much chips and candy bars. After eating Penelope showed her some funny videos on the computer while the team didn't call for her help again.

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Around 6pm Emily called Penelope.

"Hey Garcia. Did you get the file I just sent you?" Emily asked as a beep went on Penelope's computer.

"Just did big Prentiss" Penelope said.

"Is Bella there?" Emily asked.

"hi" Bella said.

"Hi Bells" Emily said. "i'm sorry we'll have to stay here a bit longer" she said and Bella just stayed quiet.

"I've got her. Don't worry mama bear" Garcia said as she saw the girl was upset and just stayed quiet.

"Thanks" Emily told her. "Well... I need you to enhance those for me"

"doing it right at this second" Penelope said and Bella smiled.

"Bye you two" Emily said.

"Bye" Bella and Penelope said in unison.

Penelope went back to work and Bella sat on the couch and got her iPad out of her bag. She played some games and read some stuff for science class and when it was almost 10pm Penelope said they would go to her house and she would work from there so Bella could sleep on a comfy bed.

"I don't mind the couch" Bella said honestly.

"I don't want my little princess Prentiss sleeping on a couch if she can sleep on her marvelous auntie penny's bed" Penelope said and Bella smiled.

"Let's go let's go" Penelope said hurrying Bella up and Bella grabbed her bag and walked out.

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Penelope drove to her apartment. It was all very colorful and fun, Bella loved it.

"your house is so cool" she said.

"Thanks bunny" Penelope said smiling proudly. "Let me show you the bedroom" Garcia said and walked to the bedroom, Bella followed behind.

"So you make yourself at home, okay?" Penelope said. "The bathroom is right there and I'll lend you some clothes" She said smiling and Bella smiled too. "They are gonna be pretty big on you though" Penelope laughed.

"98% chance that's true" Bella said.

"You are too much" Penelope laughed and hugged the girl. "Let me try to find something tight" Penelope said.

Isabella didn't pack for a sleepover so she didn't have pajamas.

"Okay" Bella smiled placing her bag on the bed. Penelope got a shirt and the tiniest shorts she could find. "Try this" she said handing the clothes to Bella. She grabbed a towel too and Bella went to take a shower while Penelope set up the computer in the living room. Bella finished getting dressed and headed to the living room, she was really tired so she decided to try to get some sleep.

"Well it's not so bad" Penelope said smiling at Bella with super lose clothes.

"I guess" Bella laughed. "I'm gonna go to bed, okay?" She said.

"Sure. Anything I'm right here" Penelope said smiling and Bella headed back to the bedroom.

Before Isabella made to the bed Penelope ran after her.

"Oh I almost forgot!" Penelope said smiling and putting her hand on Bella's shoulder and Bella looked at her.

"Forgot what?" Isabella asked confused.

"Your mom told me I should tuck you in" she said smiling.

"She did?" Bella asked embarrassed.

"Go on. Get in bed" Penelope smiled and tucked Bella in. "Is this good?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. Penelope could see she was embarrassed.

"You sleep tight and I'll come here soon. Okay?" Penelope said.

"Okay. Goodnight" Bella said.

"Goodnight" Penelope said and headed out.

Bella was trying to sleep but it was hard. She was scared and she didn't have any of her things with her but eventually the tiredness won.

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Later on when Penelope reentered the bedroom, it was to find Isabella fast asleep.

She moved to the corner of the room and sat on a chair with her laptop in her hands. She wanted to be close to the girl.

As the night went on Penelope sat back in her chair, looking over to the bed where Isabella was sprawled out, her messy dark brown hair, almost black, spread out on her pillow. Looking at her, Penelope couldn't help but notice how much the young girl looked like Emily. She had the same hair, pale skin, eyes and nose as her mother, and Penelope just smiled willing to bet that Emily looked very similar when she was 10. Penelope was suddenly lost watching the young girl, her trance broken only when the child began to toss around a few minutes later.

"No….please…no…." the little girl began to mumble, fear evident in her voice.

Penelope immediately got up, quickly making her way over to the bed, her eyes already tearing. "Bella," she said running her hand on the girl's arm. "Bella, honey wake up."

"No…mom….daddy….no" Isabella began to sound more and more panicked, her voice rising slightly.

"Bella," Penelope shook the child, desperately wanting to save the girl from her nightmare. "Come on sweetie, you're okay…it's okay,"

"NO!" Isabella sat up suddenly, her breaths coming out in short gasps. It took her a bit before she finally recognized Penelope sitting in front of her, the panic leaving her face and her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Hey, it's okay," Garcia reassured, wiping the tears that leaked rapidly from the child's eyes. "It was just a dream, just a nightmare," she said hugging the girl and running her fingers through Bella's hair, hoping it would offer her some comfort. Isabella slowly began to calm down, her breathing returning to normal.

"Sorry," Bella said quietly, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment, as she let go of the hug.

"You have nothing to be sorry for pumpkin" Penelope gave her a small smile, tucking some hair behind the girl's ear. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine," Isabella answered causing Penelope to tilt her head in disbelief. "I'll be alright," Bella said wiping her face.

"Okay," Penelope said, not surprised that the girl was reluctant to talk about the dream; she was Emily's daughter after all. "But if you need to talk, I'm here," Penelope continued getting up and making her way to the chair and grabbing her laptop.

Bella laid down again and Penelope sat next to her. The girl snuggled close to Penelope and said with tears in her eyes "Penelope, Can you call my mom?"

"Of course" Penelope said. It was almost 3 am but she knew Emily wouldn't mind at all.

She called Emily.

"Hello?" Penelope said and Bella sat up.

"Is everything alright?" Emily asked concern.

"Yeah. Unm your babe had a nightmare and she wants to talk to you" Penelope said and gave the phone to Bella.

"Mom?" Bella said trying not to sound like she was crying.

"Hi honey. Are you alright?" Emily asked with her heart aching for not being home with her daughter.

"Yeah. I just wanted to hear your voice" Bella admitted.

"I love you. You know that right?" Emily said smiling at the sweet answer Bella gave her.

"I know... And I love you too" Bella said. Suddenly JJ called out Emily.

"Well honey I gotta go but we talk soon, okay? I'm still working" Emily said.

"Okay. love you" Bella said.

"I love you too Bells. Goodnight."

"Goodnight and be safe" Bella said.

"I will baby" Emily said. "Bye" and they hung up.

Bella handed the phone to Penelope and laid in bed feeling a bit better knowing her mom was okay but she was still scared.

"Try to go back to sleep, okay munchkin? I'll be right here" Penelope said and Bella snuggled close to her again and closed her eyes. The girl was scared but she was really tired so it wasn't too hard to go back to sleep.

It was almost 3:30am when Derek Morgan texted Garcia saying they were calling the night and heading to the hotel. So Penelope placed the computer on the chair and went to take a shower. When she got back to the bed Isabella was fast asleep. She sneaked in bed next to the girl and hugged Bella who hugged her back in her sleep. Penelope smiled. In such short time she was already in love with the small child.

She kept hugging Bella and It wasn't long till Penelope fell asleep too.

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 **(Friday)**

Penelope woke up and noticed Bella's tight grip on her shirt. She couldn't help but smile. She checked the clock and it was 6 o'clock. So she just laid there.

.

At 6:30 the alarm went off and Bella jumped in bed scared.

"hey it's okay. It's the alarm" Penelope said.

Bella hugged Penelope, trying to catch a breath. She was having a nightmare about her mother getting shot and right when a man was about to shot Emily the alarm went off so she jumped up scared.

"did you have a bad dream again?" Penelope asked.

Isabella let go of the hug and nodded yes.

"it was not real sweetheart. It was just a bad dream. That's all" Penelope said and Bella nodded again.

"Alright then good morning my little tiny Em" Penelope said hugging Bella once more.

"Good morning" Isabella said embarrassed.

"I'm gonna make waffles. Go get ready" Penelope said happily jumping out of bed. Bella smiled and got up. She was glad she had Penelope.

Bella showered really fast and got dressed. She sat in front of a big mirror in Penelope's bedroom to fix her wet hair. Penelope walked in.

"Hey do you want some help with that?" Penelope asked.

"Oh no it's fine" Bella smiled. "I'm gonna leave it down" she said.

"Alright I'm going to shower then" Penelope said walking into the bathroom.

Bella grabbed her bag and went to the living room. She sat on the couch and waited for Penelope.

Once Penelope got ready, they had waffles and Isabella told Penelope they were really good. Bella just ate one and said she was already full. Penelope knew the kid wasn't eating very well and since it was Bella's first time there she wanted everything to go smooth and pushing her into eating more wasn't going to help with that so she just left like that.

They got their things and headed to the school...


	33. Chapter 33: Shots Fired

…

"You can stop right there" Isabella said pointing to where Emily usually parked the car. Penelope drove and parked there.

"So you'll take the bus to the office?" Penelope asked to confirm.

"Yes" Bella smiled and unbuckled.

"Alright, so I'll see you later my little munchkin" Penelope said all perky pulling Bella into a hug and giving her a bunch of kisses. Isabella let go of the hug with a big smile on her face but looking a little embarrassed. She looked to the school and there were her two friends waiting for her and smiling big at her. She smiled back and waved.

"So those are you friends?" Penelope asked happily.

"Yup. Chloe and Gavin" Isabella smiled and the bell rang.

"I gotta go aunt Pen. I'll see you later. Bye" Isabella said really fast and ran out to where her friends were and they ran to class. Before going in she looked back really fast and smiled at Penelope's car in the parking lot. Penelope stayed there for a while letting it sink in that Bella actually called her aunt. She couldn't believe it. She was feeling so happy and so excited. She finally had a niece.

After a while she headed to work.

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Inside the school, Bella, Gavin and Chloe hurried to get to class and went to their seats on the front. They got their binders out as the teacher walked in.

"So who was that?" Chloe asked.

"That's my aunt." Isabella said. "Well not really Unm her name is Penelope she works with my mom. She's kinda like an aunt I guess" Bella said.

"She seems cool" Gavin said.

"Yeah. Though very perky." Bella smiled and her friends smiled too. "Well I have to admit I do love all the perkyness" Bella said and Chloe laughed.

.

The day went great.

At lunch time Gavin wouldn't shut up about choir auditions.

"You guys have to audition!" He said. "It's so cool. The director is awesome and we would have time to actually hang out and have fun together not just sit down and listen to boring teachers"

"I don't know" Chloe said.

"Pleeeease do it for me." He begged. "If you hate it I won't ever make you go back"

"You won't ever bring it up again if we don't like it?" Chloe said and Bella just kept smiling.

"I swear" Gavin said and Chloe looked like she was thinking. "Please?!" He begged.

"Alright fine I'll do it" she said. Chloe liked him and she could use some time out of the house and the classroom.

"Bella?" Gavin said to Bella who was just staring at them smiling.

"Sure. Whatever" she said acting like she didn't care at all. She did like singing. At boarding school she was at the drama club and choir because Cameron made her try out and she liked it a little bit and she was really good in it. She could picture herself having fun there with her new friends. And it was just choir; it was not like she would audition for a solo part or anything like that.

"Yes!" Gavin said all excited. The bell rang shortly after that and they headed to class.

Isabella texted Emily to ask if it was okay for her to audition.

'Mom. Choir auditions are today at 4. Gav is begging Chloe and me to audition. Is it okay if I do it? - love, Bella'

After a couple seconds Emily replied.

'Of course it's okay! Go for it! Please tell Penelope you'll get there later and text me once you're in the office. Xx mom'

Bella replied with a smiley face and then texted Penelope.

'Penelope, I have to stay late at school today. I think till 5, maximum. I already told my mom she said it was okay and for me to text you. Gavin goes on my bus. Don't worry. Love, Bella'

Penelope replied 'okay sugarplum! I'll be waiting 4 u. Love love love love, auntie penny hahaha xx'

Isabella couldn't help but smiled big at the text.

"Why the smile Miss Prentiss. Do you wanna share what you're looking at on your phone?" The teacher Miss Jane Gilmore asked.

Isabella blushed instantly. "I'm sorry Miss Gilmore"

"Apology accepted but if I catch you with the phone again you're gonna use it outside this classroom. Understood?" The teacher said with a little smile. She noticed Isabella was embarrassed and she could see the kid was a good student. All the teachers already knew about her grades and all.

"Yes. I'm sorry" Isabella said putting her phone inside her pencil case and closing it.

The teacher smiled and continued with the class.

.

The rest of the school time went great. When the last bell rang they still had half an hour for the choir auditions so they decided to seat at the cafeteria to wait.

"So how exactly does this audition works?" Chloe asked.

"Well we go in the choir classroom, that's behind the stage in the theater, one by one and sing a song for the director, James, or Mister Levi" Gavin said.

"Just for the director?" Chloe asked nervous.

"Yeah. Just chill out, go there and sing whatever" Gavin said.

"It's not that hard to get in. Kids here usually go towards computer for extra" Gavin said. They talked a bit more about the audition and when it was 5 to 4 they headed to the theater.

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The audition went great for the three of them. Chloe went first, then Gavin and then Bella.

Isabella was really nervous but she did great. She sang and the director was impressed.

"You have a really good voice for musical theater you know that?" James Levi said and Bella smiled shyly.

"Thank you" she said.

"Well thank YOU for auditioning" James said and pointed the door with his hand so Bella walked out.

It was almost 4:40 when Isabella walked back to the theater.

"Where's Chloe?" She asked when she saw Gavin sitting by himself.

"Her mom just picked her up" he said.

"Oh" Bella smiled.

"So how did it go?" Gavin asked excited.

"Well I guess" Bella said smiling.

"What did he tell you?" Gavin asked.

"He said I have a good voice for musical theater" Bella said blushing embarrassed.

"He said that?!" Gavin asked excited.

"Yes" Bella said really embarrassed.

"We have musicals here, did you know?" Gavin said and Bella smiled. "You should go for that" he said.

"Maybe. Let's just see how choir goes okay. Don't start going crazy" Bella smiled.

"I'm not. Its just that if my friend can have a chance to go to Broadway I will be excited about it okay?!" He said and Bella laughed.

"No Broadway my friend" Isabella said but deep down she felt like she would love to be on Broadway someday.

"Let's go Gav" Bella said already heading to the door and Gavin followed her.

They took the bus and talked about choir. Gavin was certain that his two friends would get in.

His stop came and he left.

Bella sat quietly just looking out the window and thinking about the fun she'd probably have.

After a while the bus stopped in front of the BAU and Isabella headed out. She went up and was greeted by Penelope.

"A lot of homework today?" Penelope asked.

"Kind of" Bella said. "Can I do it on my mom's desk?" She asked.

"Sure. Go ahead" Penelope smiled. "Anything you know where to find me pumpkin" she smiled and went to her office.

Isabella sat on Emily's desk and smiled at the picture of her and her mom next to the computer.

She finished her homework and watched some episodes of 'that 70's show' on Netflix on her iPad.

It was almost 7pm when Bella went to Penelope's office.

"Excuse me" she said opening the door with her iPad and headphones in her hands.

"Come on in mini" Penelope smiled at her. Isabella walked in and sat on the couch.

"Penelope, if I need to stay with you tonight can we stop by my house?" Bella asked. "I need some things"

She needed her blanket and Tramp.

"Of course we can Bellie" Penelope smiled and Bella smiled at her.

"Can I stay here now?" Bella asked.

"Sure. You don't need to ask okay. My lair your lair my friend" Penelope said smiling and Bella laughed. Isabella laid on the couch and went back to watching Netflix.

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Around 10pm, Penelope told Bella she was going to the bathroom and if someone called for her to pick up and write down what they wanted, Bella said sure and Penelope left. She walked up to Hotch's office and called Emily, because she didn't want Bella to hear it.

"Hello?" She said when Emily answered.

"Hi. Is everything alright?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. I just wanted to know if it was okay for me to take Bella to sleep in your apartment tonight. She asked to stop by to get some things and I thought why not just stay there you know. On her own bed" Penelope said.

"Oh sure. She has the keys" Emily said.

"Alright. Take care First Lady Prentiss" Penelope said smiling and Emily smiled. "You too" Emily said. "Bye" and they hung up. Penelope walked back to her lair.

"Bellie! I have big news!" Penelope said.

"Are they coming back?" Bella asked hopeful and Penelope's smile faded.

"No" Penelope said feeling bad to ruin the girl's hopes. "But we are staying at your place tonight. I'll work from there" she said.

"We are?" Isabella said.

"Yup. And we're ordering pizza" Penelope said smiling.

"Awesome!" Isabella said excited.

"Alright so get your things cause we're leaving soon" Penelope said and Bella got out of the couch smiling and headed to Emily's desk. She got her bag and Penelope appeared.

"Let's go?" Penelope said and Bella nodded yes. They headed to the car and drove to Bella's apartment.

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When they entered the apartment Penelope headed to the dining room table and placed her things there while Bella went upstairs to shower. Garcia ordered pizza and then went back to work on the case. After a while Isabella went there and she was in pajamas and her hair was wet.

"Happy to be home?" Penelope asked typing things on the computer.

"Yup" Bella said with a little smile. "I'm gonna go watch tv, okay?" Bella said walking back to the door.

"Okay" Penelope smiled and Bella headed out. She sat in the living room and turned the tv on. She began watching a movie while Penelope worked.

After a while the buzzer rang. It was the pizza. Bella buzzed the delivery guy in and Penelope answered the door when he got up there. Bella sat at the dining room to eat with Penelope while Penelope ate and worked. Once they were done Isabella went to her bathroom, she brushed her teeth and headed to bed. She started a new book 'Looking for Alaska'. It was almost 1 am when Penelope went to check on Bella. She found Isabella fast asleep with her book in hands. She smiled at the sight remembering Emily talking about finding Bella like that sometimes. She put the book on the nightstand and covered Bella up.

"Hi" she said noticing Bella's eyes opening.

"Hi" Bella whispered.

"go back to sleep baby. It's late" Penelope said giving Bella a kiss on the cheek.

"Is my mom coming back?" Bella asked.

"Not today Bellie" Penelope said looking sorry. "Go to sleep" she said.

"Goodnight aunt penny" Bella whispered.

"Goodnight, my favorite girl in the whole entire planet earth" Penelope said smiling. Bella closed her eyes and put her hand under her pillow. Penelope smiled knowing exactly what the girl was doing.

"Anything I'm downstairs" Penelope said but Bella was already out. So she headed back to the dining room. Penelope stayed up all night working with the team to catch the killer. Luckily Bella slept the whole night with no nightmares.

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 **(Saturday)**

Isabella woke up and it was almost 11am. She brushed her teeth and headed downstairs. She found Penelope eating cereal in front of the computer.

"Good morning" Isabella said.

"Morning. There's cereal at the counter" Penelope said. "I want a kiss first. Come here"

Bella walked to her embarrassed and kissed her cheek, Penelope kissed Bella's cheek back.

"Go eat, okay?" Penelope said smiling.

"Okay" Bella said. "Unm Pen?"

"Yeah?"

"Are they almost done?" Isabella asked.

"Almost I think" she smiled.

"Do you think they'll come back today?" Bella asked.

"Very likely Bellie" Penelope smiled. She could see the happiness in Bella's eyes. "Now go eat" she said and Bella walked out. She went to the kitchen and ate some cereal. Once she was done she told Penelope she was going to take a shower. She did that, got dressed and sat on her bed to read. She stayed there till 2 when Penelope called her out to eat lunch, she had ordered Chinese.

Bella went down and ate in the living room watching tv while Penelope sat at the dining room eating and working. Once Bella was done she went back to her room. She texted her brother and talked about Emily being away. Jeremy told her that Emily was going to be okay. Then she texted Cameron. They talked for a long time about everything and then Bella went back to reading.

.

At 4:26 Penelope went to Bella's bedroom.

"Bella. I have to go to the office. I already told your mom and she said you can wait here if you want and anything just go to Chloe's" Penelope said.

"Okay I'll stay here I don't mind" Bella said. She had been home alone in Seattle before.

"Alright. Come lock the door munchkin" Penelope said and Bella headed downstairs with her.

At the door Penelope said "look anything just call, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said.

"Lock everything up. Stay in your room and keep your phone close to you" Penelope said. She didn't like leaving Bella by herself there but she had to go to the office.

"Hey it's okay. I'm used to staying home by myself aunt Pen" Bella smiled.

"Alright. Bye" Penelope said and hugged Bella and then left. Isabella locked everything and headed to her bedroom. She took a shower, changed into pajamas and got her book.

After a while she made popcorn in the microwave and sat in the living room to watch tv. She stayed home alone in Seattle sometimes when her dad had to work.

Around 5:30, Isabella got a text from her mother.

'We might go home today. I'll let you know asap. See you soon. Xx mom'

She replied with a smiley face and went back to reading her book.

.

Emily stared at the smiley face and smiled.

She put her phone back in her pocket and started talking to JJ.

The team worked really hard and it was only around 6:30 that they actually got somewhere.

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"According to Penelope, his last known address in 806 Gilman Street, Huntsville" Morgan said.

"That's 2 blocks from her" Reid said looking at a map.

Derek, Spencer, and Emily headed to the SUV. The rest of the team were out. The speeding SUV screeched to a stop in front of an old house. The three of them jumped out.

"Prentiss, Reid, you take the front. I'll take the back door." Derek said.

Emily went in first followed close by Reid. As she entered the house a shot went out. She felt a strong pain on her arm and fell to the ground. The unsub ran as Reid fired missing him.

"Put the gun down" Suddenly came the sound of Derek's voice.

The man did what was told and Morgan arrested him.

"We need medics" Reid said kneeing down next to Emily, who was sitting on the floor putting pressure on her wound.

"Are you okay?" he demanded, worried.

"Yeah," she breathed.

"You're done, asshole," Derek told the man who shot her.

The medics took Emily to the ambulance and headed to the hospital. Reid and Derek went to the SUV and followed the ambulance.

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When Emily got to the hospital that she actually processed she had been shot and she just knew her daughter would freak out. She knew the kid would be even more scared.

For her luck the bullet would needed minimum care. Just a few stitches on her arm which was pure luck.

The doctors wanted to keep her in for a while but she refused it so Derek and Spencer drove her back to the station.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hotch asked, looking at her carefully.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. He pressed his lips together firmly, clearly angry that one of his agents was hurt.

"Do you want me to stay the night with you and Bella?" JJ asked.

"No. It's alright" Emily said hoping it was true. She just knew the kid would freak out.

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The flight was fine. Once they landed it was almost 10 and Morgan insisted on taking her home.

When they got there he went up with her.

"Y'know, you didn't have to come" Emily told Derek as he pressed her floor number on the elevator.

"I shouldn't have sent you in," came his reply.

"Oh come on. It happens Morgan. It wasn't your fault. His victims were killed with knives, nothing indicated he even knew how to use a gun. It didn't match his profile" Emily said.

"It's just... I promised her" he said honestly.

"It's alright" Emily said squeezing his arm. "You did just what you promised her. You got there in time to save my life" Emily said smiling.

"Tell that to a 10 year-old" He said.

"She'll be alright" Emily said.

"Do you need me to stay with you?" Morgan asked serious.

"Of course not," Emily replied. "Thank you, but no. Bella will be with me."

"Bella's 10" Derek said. "I'm staying" he said serious.

"There's no need-" Emily said but he cut her off.

"I'm staying" he said and she just stayed quiet and walked to the door. She unlocked the front door, opening it to find the lights and the TV on.

"Bella?" she said.

"Hi" Bella replied. She stood up, looking surprised to see Morgan.

"Oh," she paused. "Hi Derek."

"Hi kid," he replied sounding a bit sad.

Emily knew she couldn't prolong the inevitable. She walked to Bella and she hated the way fear looked on her little girl's face.

"Mom!" Isabella stared, her mouth opening and staying like that.

 ****** sorry about the cliffhanger haha i had to. Anyways... let me know what you guys are thinking about this and where do you see this going? Will something else happen to emily? uhmmmn.**


	34. Chapter 34: Tough People Die Too

…

"Mom!" Isabella stared, her mouth opening and staying like that.

"Honey, I'm fine," Emily held up a hand and walked towards Bella. "II just got hurt a little" Emily said. But she had a sling on.

"did you break it?" Bella asked a bit confused.

When Emily reached her daughter, she went for a hug but Bella took a step back unsure of what to do and scared.

"It's okay, you won't hurt me" Emily said and put her arms around her baby.

"What happened?" Isabella cried.

"Let's get your mom settled on the couch," Derek suggested. He guided Emily to the couch and Isabella followed behind.

"What happened?" She asked again, now sitting down.

"Your mom helped arrest a serial killer," Derek replied.

"Mom" Bella said with tears in her.

"I'm okay really baby" Emily said.

"You don't look okay" Bella said upset.

"We walked in to arrest a bad man and then out of nowhere he shot me in here" she said moving her hand to her shoulder.

"You got shot?" Bella asked. The kid looked terrified.

"Baby I'm okay" Emily said.

"Did you go to the hospital?" Bella asked and her eyes filled with more tears.

"Of course I did, baby," Emily replied, reaching out to pull Bella down onto the couch beside her. "Listen, I'm okay. I promise." She said and bella just looked sad.

"look. I'm alright. I'll be just fine in a couple days" She said.

"Mom" Bella said trying hard to hold her tears in.

"Come here, baby," Emily soothed, pulling Isabella to her. She lied back into the huge couch, hugging Bella to her.

"What if something else had happened to you?" Isabella asked, almost a whisper.

"Nothing's going to happen to me, baby."

Bella lifted her head full of tears rolling and stared at her mother.

"Bells, this doesn't happen often," Emily assured her. "Derek got there so fast. He saved me." She said and Bella just shook her head, burying her face as a sob escaped her. Emily swallowed hard as tears filled her own eyes.

It took a while before Isabella's sobs quieten. Emily just continued to stroke her hair.

"Shuuuu shuuuu. It's okay. I'm okay" Emily kept saying.

After a while Isabella's crying stopped. Emily could feel her face wet from crying too. She just hated seeing her daughter like that.

"Let's go up honey" Emily said and Bella stood up.

"I'll be here" derek told Emily who nodded.

Emily put her arm around Bella's shoulder and they headed up and laid on Emily's bed.

Isabella's face was killing her inside.

"I'm gonna stay here, okay?" Bella said.

"Okay" Emily said.

"I'm just gonna get something" Bella said and headed to her bedroom.

When she got there Derek was sitting on her bed going through a book.

"Where is she?" He asked the girl.

"She went to bed" Bella said almost a whisper.

She walked to the bed and grabbed her blanket.

"Bella" Derek said and the girl looked at him.

"I'm sorry she got hurt" he said feeling awful.

"It wasn't your fault" Bella said. "Mom said you save her" she said walking to him.

"Thanks" she said and hugged him. He pulled her to his lap and she started crying again.

"I'm so sorry" he said and he let her cry.

Once she stopped she said "I'll sleep with her. You can sleep here on my bed if you want to"

"Thanks" he said and she got off his lap.

"Goodnight" He said.

"Goodnight uncle Derek" the little girl said and walked to her mother's bedroom.

Derek took his shoes off and laid on the bed. He was just exhausted. 

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Back at Emily's bedroom, Isabella laid next to Emily in bed and Emily began to strike her hair.

"Mom?" Bella whispered.

"Yes baby?" Emily said.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Bella asked with tears in her eyes again.

"I'll be fine sweetie." Emily said pulling Bella closer to her. Isabella let her tears fall.

"Oh honey. I'm okay. Don't cry. I'm alright" Emily said trying to calm Bella down.

"but you got shot" Bella said.

"but I'm okay. See? It just hurts a little baby. I'm okay. I promise" Emily said. She hugged Bella trying hard not to cry again. They stayed hugging till both were fast asleep. 

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 **(Sunday)**

The whole night Bella was a mess. She couldn't sleep for too long. She would finally fall asleep and a while later wake up. After that happened a few times she drifted to sleep again and suddenly woke up from a nightmare. She had dreamed she was trying to wake her mother but she just wouldn't wake up. She sat on the bed and whispered "mommy" but of course Emily was sleeping and wouldn't hear a whisper.

"Mommy" Bella said, a little louder but not loud enough, and started crying because Emily stayed sleeping.

The girl was scared to try to wake her mother now so she ran to get Derek.

She walked in her bedroom and the man was asleep. She got close to the bed and shook his arm.

"Derek. Uncle Derek wake up" she said crying. She was so scared.

"What happened?" Derek said sitting up fast when he saw her crying.

Bella just looked at him scared and he pulled her to his lap.

"What's wrong princess?" He asked.

"Can you go wake her up?" Bella asked.

"Why? Is she not waking up?" He asked scared but trying not to look like it.

"I don't know. I had a nightmare that I was trying to wake her but she wasn't waking up and now I'm scared to try it" Bella sobbed.

"Come on let's go" he said picking the girl up and headed to Emily's bedroom.

He got near the bed and put Isabella down on the floor.

"Em" he said shaking her a bit but she didn't move. "Emily" he said a bit louder and she woke up.

"Yeah" Emily said confused as she opened her eyes.

"She's okay, see?" Derek said. "Go lay down with her" he told Bella who got on the bed again.

"Can you stay here?" She asked him.

"Guys what's going on?" Emily asked confused sitting on the bed.

"I had a nightmare" Bella said.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked her and wrapped the girl in her arms.

Bella nodded yes and said "now I'm okay"

"Let's go back to sleep baby it's late" Emily said and Bella laid down.

"I'll make a bed right there" Derek said pointing to the floor next to the side Isabella was sleeping.

"Okay" Bella said.

Derek went to Isabella's bedroom and got the covers he was using before and a pillow and headed back to Emily's bedroom.

When he got there the two women were sleeping hugging each other. He laid on the floor and fell asleep too. 

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It was 8 when Bella got out of bed, got her iPad and climbed in bed next to Emily again. Derek woke up and said he would fix them some breakfast and headed downstairs.

After a while Bella went down and had pancakes with him.

"Are they good?" He asked.

"Yeah" Bella said looking sad.

"Hey princess, she'll be okay. She's tough" he told her.

"I know" Bella said. She knew her mother was tough and she would be okay but she was scared it would happen again and be even worse.

Once they finished eating Derek got a call from Hotch and he had to go to the BAU so he hugged the girl goodbye and gave her his number and said that anything she could just call him. He showed Bella the medicine Emily had to take and left, so the girl went upstairs to her mother's bedroom again. 

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After a couple of hours, Isabella was finishing an episode of 'Doctor Who' when Emily woke up and found the girl staring at her chest.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked confused.

"Nothing" Bella said embarrassed.

"Bella" Emily said demanding a truthful answer.

"I was just making sure you were breathing" Isabella said looking down.

"Honey, I'm okay ,see?. Come here. Did you even sleep?" Emily said.

"Yes," Isabella replied. "Derek said you need those pills." She said pointing to the pills in the nightstand. Emily took the pills and sat on the bed and reached out to Bella, pulling her in for a hug.

"You okay?" she asked.

Bella nodded yes and laid down next to Emily.

Suddenly the door buzzed.

"I'll go" Bella said went downstairs.

After a while Emily went downstairs.

"Who is it, honey?" she asked reaching the bottom of the stairs.

"Penelope," Isabella replied, unlocking the door. Emily was not surprised. A moment later Bella opened the door to reveal Penelope Garcia, with a bunch of bags.

"Are you okay?" She asked putting the bags on the kitchen island.

"I'm fine," Emily said.

"And you," she said, turning to Bella and hugging her. "I shouldn't have left. You poor thing. Do you need anything? I have everything you'll need. Both of you. Oh, you poor girl. "

"I'm okay," Isabella told Penelope, letting go of the hug. Emily reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind Bella's ear.

"I'm making breakfast for you," Penelope said.

"Derek already did and it's almost 2 already" Bella said.

"What? It's 2 in the afternoon?" Emily asked surprised.

"Oh yeah" Penelope said. "You woke up right now?"

"No" Emily lied.

"Yes you did" Bella said.

"And what about you munchkin!? Did you sleep?" Penelope asked.

"Yes" Bella said.

"And that means no she didn't" Emily said. "so go get some sleep." Emily told her.

"I'm not tired." Bella said.

"Yes you are. Honey I can see you are. Come on. Couch" Emily said and Bella went. Bella walked to the couch looking sad and she did look very tired.

"Go lay with her" Penelope said. "You two need each other right now" she said and Emily left.

Bella turned the tv on and they watched some tv till Penelope walked over with scrambled eggs and toast. Penelope sat on the small couch with the girl while Emily rested on the longer couch with her legs up. Once Emily and Penelope were done eating, Emily took another pill and laid on the couch. After a little while the woman was asleep.

Bella couldn't close her eyes but she was glad Penelope was there.

Isabella suddenly hugged the older woman and said "Thanks for coming over."

Penelope smiled warmly. "Oh, honey. Don't mention it. I told you, whatever you need, I'm here."

Bella smiled and kept wrapped in the older woman's arms. She watched some tv and it wasn't long till she fell asleep too. 

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Around 4, Derek stopped by again to check on them and he found Penelope cooking and the two brunettes asleep on the couch.

"That doesn't look comfortable" he said noticing the way Isabella was laying on the couch.

"Can you take her to bed?" Penelope asked. "She needs to rest. Poor thing"

"Sure" he said and took her up. He placed her on her bed and the kid didn't even move an inch. She was exhausted.

When Derek got back to the living room Emily was awake.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'm good" Emily said.

"Where's Bella?" She asked.

"I just took her to bed. She fell asleep here" he said.

"Thanks" Emily said.

"No problem" he said sitting on the couch.

"And thank you for staying last night" she said. "She really needed someone else here"

"Anytime" he said.

The three friends talked about work and about Bella and later the girl went downstairs. She got there scratching her eyes with the back of her hans, still very sleepy.

"Did you sleep okay?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella said honestly.

"Come here" Derek said and the girl sat on his lap.

"Do you want to try to sleep some more?" He asked putting his hand on her head and making her rest on his chest.

"No" she said.

"How about dinner?" Penelope said. "I made lasagna! Come on" she said excited and Emily got up, Derek picked Bella up and carried her to the dining room table. The girl sat next to Emily and they started eating. Isabella said the food was good but barely ate any. Emily gave Penelope a look as if saying for her to not mention it and Penelope didn't bring it up.

After lunch Bella sat in the living room with Emily, Derek and Penelope. She played a game on her iPad as the agents watched tv.

Emily fell asleep again and woke up around 8. Bella was reading a book. She just had to force herself into thinking about something else other than her mother being hurt so she decided to read.

"Garcia. It's getting late" Emily said.

"Oh honey. I invited myself to a sleepover" Penelope smiled.

"What?" Emily let out a laugh.

"You can have my bed" Isabella said smiling.

"Thanks" Penelope smiled and Emily couldn't help but smile too.

"Well, I think I should go" Derek said. He said his goodbyes and went home. 

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Around 11 Emily told Bella to go to bed.

"Mom I'm not even tired now" Bella lied.

"Honey you barely slept last night and you have school tomorrow" Emily said. "Go on. I'll be up in a minute" she said and Bella didn't look happy about it but did what she was told. The girl couldn't even think about school at the time.

"Goodnight Penelope" she said giving Penelope a hug.

"Goodnight peanut" Penelope smiled.

"You don't need to tuck me in mom" Bella said with a straight face as she reached the stairs. She went up so fast Emily didn't even have time to say anything.

Bella went to change and Emily gave her some time before going up. She headed to her room and Bella was already in bed turning to the side and holding her blanket.

Emily walked in and sat on the bed.

"Hey" she said and Bella turned around and looked at her.

"I don't need to tuck you in tonight?" Emily asked with a small smile. Bella just kept a straight face. "Hey… what's going on honey?" Emily asked. She knew Bella was upset about her being hurt but she didn't get why she said that and didn't want her to do that.

"Nothing... It's fine… I'm just tired" Bella lied.

"Well, tired you need to be tucked in" Emily said already starting to do that. She tucked Bella in and kissed her forehead. She could feel Isabella getting tense.

"Mom?" Bella said. "When are we going to Seattle?" She asked.

"I'm think next Saturday or Sunday probably" Emily said and Bella nodded slightly.

"When will you Unm..." Bella started "go back to normal?" She asked shyly.

"In a week or two I think" Emily said and smiled. She could see Bella was very worried about that. "Hey, I'll be okay. Don't worry" she said smiling and Bella gave her a little smile. "Goodnight honey." She said.

"Goodnight" Isabella said and turned around again.

Emily stood up and walked out.

.

Emily walked downstairs and talked about what happened to Penelope. Her friend said that Bella was scared and she would get better soon. It was just a scary situation that she was not used to.

"I bet she never saw you hurt Em. She's just scared" Penelope said and Emily couldn't agree more. She had gotten hurt on the job before but she never allowed herself to go see Bella when she was hurt. She only went once when Bella was 5 and she had a black eye and she remember Bella being super careful around her. She knew the kid was scared.

They talked for a while and then headed to bed.

Emily found Bella fast asleep and she fell asleep shortly too.

In the other room Penelope slept. 

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 **(Monday)**

Emily and Bella were woken up by the alarm clock at exact 6:30.

"Good morning" Emily said to Bella who just smiled a little and sat on the bed.

"I'm really not in the mood for PE today" Bella said sounding really tired.

"So is it today you'll know about the choir thing?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. The results will be out at 4." Bella smiled looking over at Emily and the smile faded shortly after. Emily saw she tensed and looked away.

"Hey. I'm okay" she told Bella for the millionth time. She smiled and said "go get ready for school honey" and Bella got out of bed and headed to her bedroom. She went and took a quick shower, got dressed and headed to have breakfast. She found Penelope with a stack of pancakes.

"Good morning my sunshine! Do you want some help with your hair?" Penelope said as Bella got to the bottom of the stairs combing her hair.

"Sure" Bella said. "Let me get an elastic" she said and ran to the guest bathroom.

"Here. You can do whatever as long as it's out of my face. I have PE" Bella said handing the comb and a little bag of hair ties to Penelope. Isabella sat at a stool in the island and Penelope did a half up French braid.

"Vuala" Penelope said when she was done.

"Thanks" Bella gave her a sweet smile.

"Alright now eat!" Penelope said hugging Bella. She let go and they ate breakfast. When they were done Penelope said "go say bye to your mama so we can go or you're gonna be late"

Isabella smiled shyly and headed upstairs. When she walked in Emily's bedroom her mom was asleep holding Bella's blanket. Isabella smiled and walked closer to the bed. She placed a kiss on Emily's forehead and Emily opened her eyes.

"Sorry I woke you" Bella said.

"It's okay. Are you going now?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. I'll see you when I get back" Bella smiled a little.

"Have a good day baby" Emily smiled and Bella smiled back.

"Mom?" Bella said.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing with my blanket?"

"It smells like you" Emily said slightly blushing and Isabella smiled.

Suddenly Penelope appeared.

"Peanut you're gonna be late" she said.

"Bye mom" Bella said and gave Emily a kiss. Emily kissed her back and she headed out with Penelope.

.

The drive was okay. Penelope told Bella she would head to the office but she would call Emily to check on her and she told Bella not to worry about a zillion times. She dropped Bella off and headed to work. She didn't even waited till Bella got inside like Emily did and like she had done the first time she took Bella.

Isabella stood at the entrance of the school, torn of whether she actually wanted to go inside the building. She got out her phone and text Chloe.

"I'm outside. At the bench" Bella told Chloe.

A few minutes later Chloe walked out of the school door. She ran up to Bella and gave her a tight hug. "What are you doing? Why didn't you go in? And why didn't you answer me yesterday?" Chloe lectured.

"Sorry, I just needed some time alone." Isabella replied solemnly.

"umm can we go somewhere else?" Isabella asked.

"Sure, where do you want to go?" Chloe said.

"Theater?" Isabella suggested.

"Lets go." Chloe said.

The two girls walked in silence to the school's theater. They sat down on the stage and no one said a word for a while.

"What's wrong B?" Chloe suddenly asked.

Isabella looked at the floor, feeling tears fill her eyes. "Bella?" Chloe asked.

Bella took a deep breath and shook her head slightly in an attempt to get rid of the tears. "You can't tell anyone." Bella instructed.

"I won't" Chloe agreed. "what's wrong?"

"It's my mom."

"What's with your mom?" Chloe asked.

"She got hurt on the case" Bella said. She looked scared.

"She got hurt?" Chloe asked concern.

"she got shot" Bella said. "It's just..." She wasn't able to finish. She put her head in her hands, letting silent tears pour down her face. She felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked over to Chloe who pulled her into a tight hug. "Bella, I don't know what to say. Are you okay?" Chloe asked and Bella pulled out of the hug. "I don't know." She shrugged.

"I'm just scared of her getting hurt again I guess. She told me she would be fine at work but that things like this could happen. But all I can think about is that she'll get killed and I won't have anybody" Isabella said really fast completely opening up to her friend.

"Bella" Chloe said with tears in her eyes. She felt so bad seeing her friend like that. "Your mom will be okay" she said. "She's super tough and her team is there. You know that."

"Yeah right" Bella said sarcastically.

"You know things like this can happen. It's part of the job but I'm sure your mom's being very careful B. And she won't leave, okay? Don't worry about that" Chloe said.

"I wish it was that easy" Bella said wiping her face.

The girls sat in silence for a while. Chloe's phone started ringing so she pulled it out to see she had a text from Gavin. "We gotta go. Missing PE is fine but if we miss something else they'll tell on us" Chloe said standing up, Bella stood up as well.

"Yeah sure," Bella said.

Chloe gave her friend a hug. "Your mom will be fine" Chloe said and they headed back to the school.

When they got to class, Gavin had a million questions about what happened. Bella told him about Emily getting hurt and just as Chloe said he said she would be fine and that she was tough. All Bella could think was that tough people died too.


	35. Chapter 35: Recover

****** Hi guys. I wanted to ask you all if you like bigger or small chapters better? I've been having a hard time separating my writing into chapters and i was just wondering that so please let me know =)**

 **xx,b**

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School went on okay. After the last bell rang they went to the theater to wait for the results of the choir auditions and for their happiness they all got in. They were so excited. The director said they would start the rehearsals the upcoming week so they headed to the bus stop.

On their way there Isabella got a text from Derek: "I'm driving you home. Wait for me in front of the school."

"Chloe, Derek's coming to pick me up" Bella said and her friends left.

After a while Derek showed up.

"So how are you doing kid?" He asked on their way to the apartment.

"I'm fine" Bella lied.

"You are just like your mother" he told her knowing the girl was lying.

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Derek dropped Isabella off and headed back to work.

Isabella got home to find Emily asleep in the couch. She went upstairs to change. Emily didn't wake up till after 6. The meds just knocked her out. She woke up to find Bella sleeping in the other couch.

.

Around 7, Emily decided to get the dinner ready. She made spaghetti and then woke Bella up. She finished cooking while Bella set the stuff at the island. They had dinner and Bella barely even tasted the food. She just played with it on her plate and waited till Emily was done.

"You need to eat more than 3 full forks honey" Emily said looking concern.

"I don't feel very good" Bella said looking down at the food.

"How about just a little bit more?" Emily said softly begging.

"I can't eat it" Bella said as she felt her eyes burn. She hated that she was always crying now. She didn't really understand why and she just hated it.

"Just a little bit Bella" Emily said but before she finished Bella was already running away.

"Bella!" Emily stood up and called as Bella hurried up the stairs. She went to her room and slammed the door and shoved herself on the bed. She tried hard not to cry but she couldn't help it. She didn't want any of that, she wanted her life back. She just hated being scared all the time. She wanted her dad, and Cam, and Seattle. She just wanted it all to go back to like it was before.

Emily walked to Bella's room. She went in to find Bella below the covers. She pulled the covers away and saw Bella's red face staring back at her.

"Oh honey" Emily said and sat on the bed. Isabella sat up and hugged her mother. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to. She just cried and Emily kept rocking her slightly till she calmed down. Once Isabella went back to normal she sat beside Emily on the bed.

"This is because of my work, isn't it?" Emily asked just to make sure, when Isabella didn't answer she knew that it was. "Honey. This doesn't happen frequently, okay? All these years I got hurt maybe 3 times. Sometimes people throw punches and sometimes you're the one taking them but that doesn't mean I'm going to come home like this every time honey" Emily said not wanting to hide from Bella that she could get hurt. "Look. I've been thinking and I can stop. Alright? I can. I can find something else to do. I don't know. I'll find something." Emily said. She indeed had thought hard about that before and she knew that if it came to the point that she had to choose she would always chose her daughter's wellbeing, and seeing Bella so scared of her going to work was killing her.

"I don't want you to stop mom. You're helping people. I don't want you to stop. I'm just a bit scared but I don't want you to stop." Bella said with tears starting to roll down her face again. She was telling the truth, she didn't want Emily to stop, she always thought that what her mother got to do was amazing and brave and also she liked the team and she knew deep inside they wouldn't let Emily get killed. Even though all she could think was that that would happen.

"Honey are you sure?" Emily asked in disbelief. She thought for sure Bella would want her to stop.

"Yeah. I don't want you to stop" Bella said and hugged Emily. "Just be really really careful next time, okay?"

They kept hugging for a while till Bella said "Dad could have gotten hurt on his job too"

"What?" Emily said letting go of the hug not really getting what Bella said.

"Dad could have gotten hurt being a doctor. Remember the shooting in the hospital? Derek got hurt, he could have died and if it wasn't for people like you mom that man could have hurt more people including dad" Isabella said talking about the shooting that had happened in the hospital a couple of years before. Emily hugged Bella.

"I just mean that it doesn't really matter what you do. People can get hurt anywhere. At least you have your team there with you" Bella said finally realizing what every team member had tried to explain to her.

"Yeah" Emily agreed.

There was a moment of silence as Emily saw her kid had finally understood that.

"Can I sleep now?" Bella asked.

"Sure." Emily said letting go of Bella who laid in bed still wearing regular day clothes.

"You're not gonna change?" Emily asked.

"No. I don't care" Bella said putting her hand under her pillow. She realized her blanket was not there.

"It's in my bed" Emily said. "I thought you would sleep with me again"

"Can I?" Bella asked shyly.

"Of course. Come on" Emily said smiling and took Bella's hand and then they headed to Emily's bedroom.

Emily tucked Bella in.

"Mom anything just wake me up, okay?" Bella said.

"Okay. I'm fine don't worry" Emily smiled and kissed the child's forehead, they said goodnight and Emily went to the kitchen to clean the island. She stayed downstairs till about 10. She cleaned the island and sat on the couch just thinking about things. She was glad Bella didn't want her to quit the BAU. She liked working there, even though it was hard at times.

She called Hilary to ask if she could give Bella a ride to school and Hilary said sure and asked how she was doing. She said that Chloe told her that she got hurt. Emily said she was doing fine but she wasn't clear to drive yet. Hilary said she would stop by her door the day after to pick Bella up and wished Emily well and they hung up.

Around 11 she finally took her pain medicine and went to bed knowing the medicine would knock her out soon. She laid in bed watching Bella snuggle her blanket close to her face. She just stared at the sleeping girl till the medicine kicked in and she was out.

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(Tuesday)

Bella woke up and Emily wasn't in bed. She went looking for Emily and found her in the kitchen making pancakes. Emily knew Bella liked pancakes a lot and since she wasn't eating well Emily was willing to cook everything the kid loved.

"Good morning" Emily said.

"Mom, you need to rest" Bella said sounding sleep.

"I'm fine baby" Emily said from the hundredth time. Her arm was feeling way better. "Go get ready cause Hilary will be here soon"

"What?" Bella asked confused.

"I can't drive. She's giving you a ride" Emily said. "Is that okay?" She asked.

"Sure" Bella smiled.

"Oh!" Emily said loud. "What about the choir?" She asked.

"I got in" Bella said as if it was nothing. The fact was that she didn't really care about that at the time.

"You did?! Oh my god honey I'm so proud" Emily said heading to hug Bella who smiled embarrassed. "When are the rehearsals?" Emily asked hugging Bella then letting go and walking over to the stove again.

"It starts next week." Bella said. "Every Monday and Friday, from 4 to 5"

"That's awesome honey" Emily said smiling and Bella smiled too. "Well, now hurry up!" Emily said and Bella went to change.

After a while she went down and they ate the pancakes, Bella just ate one but at least one was something. Shortly Hilary arrived by herself. She thought it was better for the girls not to see Emily hurt. She felt bad and kept saying to anything just call her and not to worry about Bella that she would take care of her if Emily needed and all of that. Emily hugged Bella goodbye and they headed off.

.

On the way to the school Hilary could see the kid was shaken up by all so she decided not to say anything about it. She said she was happy that they were in the choir and was beyond excited to watch them perform. The girls were embarrassed about it but they liked the idea.

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After school was done Bella and Chloe headed to the library to pick some books for a French project they had to do and then headed to get Millie and went to the bus.

When Bella got home Emily was asleep in the couch again. Isabella went to her bedroom to change her clothes. She got her homework and laptop and headed to the dining room to sit there to do it. When she got downstairs Emily was awake drinking water in the kitchen.

"How was school?" Emily asked walking to Bella and hugging her.

"It was alright" Bella said.

"What do you have for homework?" Emily asked.

"Math," Bella replied. "English and French"

"Well go work on your homework then" Emily smiled and bella headed to the dining room.

.

Once she was done with homework she sat on the couch watching tv while Emily slept.

It was almost 8 when Emily woke up. She decided to order dinner.

Bella ate just two slices and then headed to get ready for bed. Derek Shepherd called her to check on Emily. He had texted bella the day before and bella had told him what happened. She had also told Cameron but she didn't tell any of them how she felt about it.

After a while she went to Emily's bed again and Emily tucked her in. She fell asleep on her mother's bed really fast, she was exhausted.

Later on Shepherd called Emily to make sure she was okay and told her that bella had told him. Emily was glad bella wasn't hiding it. She talked a lot with him and then went to take a shower and went to bed.

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(Wednesday)

It was 7 when Bella woke up. She checked her phone in the nightstand for the time and jumped in a hurry waking up Emily.

"What happened?" Emily asked concern.

"It's 7 already" bella said and ran out of the room. She showered really fast, got dressed and headed downstairs.

"Mom can you braid my hair like Penelope? Those two ones" bella said.

"Sure" Emily said and bella walked over to her. "Eat while I'll do it" Emily said and Bella sat on a stool at the island. Emily braided Bella's hair with a little struggle while Bella ate cereal.

"Done" Emily said.

"Me too" bella jumped out of the stool and ran to her room.

Emily picked the cereal bowl to put in the sink and Bella barely ate half of it. She made a face of serious concern. She didn't know what to do anymore. She didn't want to force the child to eat. Isabella had always been a good eater but whenever she was sad or scared she wouldn't eat, Emily knew that.

After a while the doorbell rang and Bella hurried down.

"I'll get it" she said running to the door before Emily could make there. She opened it and it was Hilary.

"Are you okay?" Hilary said concerned because the kid was trying to catch a breath.

"Yeah. I was a bit late" Bella said.

"The alarm didn't go off" Emily said coming to the door. "Go get your things" Emily said and Bella headed to pick her backpack in the dining room.

"You look better" Hilary told Emily.

"Yeah. The swelling is finally going down" Emily said smiling.

"How's she doing?" Hilary asked.

"Better than i expected actually" Emily said.

"Mom, did you see my folder?" Bella asked from the dining room.

"It's in the couch, Bells" Emily said.

"Well anything just call." Hilary said and Bella headed back to the door with her bag.

"Thank you" Emily said. "Got everything?" Emily asked the child.

"Yup" Bella said smiling at her mother.

"Have a good day" Emily said.

"You too" Bella said and kissed Emily on the cheek, Emily kissed her back and Bella left with Hilary.

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The ride to the school was good.

Hilary asked how Emily reacted to the choir news and Bella told how excited her mother was. The girls chatted in the back seat till Hilary parked the car.

"So I see you guys here 3:30" Hilary said.

"Okay" Chloe said.

"You too Bella!" Hilary smiled.

"Okay" Bella smiled back.

"Bye" Millie said.

"Bye girls. Have a nice day" Hilary said and the girls left. They took Millie to her classroom and then headed to theirs.

"Why is your mom picking us up today?" Bella asked.

"I have a dentist appointment at 4" Chloe said.

"Oh" Bella said.

They walked to the classroom and sat on the front as always.

"Hey" Gavin said smiling at them. He was already in the classroom.

"Hey" Bella said sitting in front of him. Chloe sat next to Gavin.

The first class was geography. Then they had American history and then lunch break. The three friends bought lunch and headed to the lounge close to the library. Bella wasn't hungry as always so she only got her usual chips.

"Is that all you eat Shrimpy?" Vanessa said coming into the lounge.

Isabella didn't answer.

"Oh the cat stole her tongue" Yuna said.

"You never eat anything. You look sick" Vanessa said. "Your mom doesn't feed you well?"

"Shut up" Bella said. She could take the mean things about her but she hated when they talked about her parents.

"Uuuh she does talk" Mazzy said.

"Do you know what? Let's eat girls or we'll end up like her" Vanessa said and they walked out.

Isabella could feel her face was burning.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked but Bella didn't answer she was staring at the door.

"Hey Bella!" Gavin said and Bella looked at him. "Don't listen to them " he said.

"Whatever" Bella said and walked out of the lounge. Gavin got up to follow her but Chloe held his arm.

"Let her go. If you talk to her it's just going to make it worse" Chloe said and Gavin sat back down. They stayed there eating their lunch.

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Isabella walked to the bathroom close to her classroom which no one really used during lunch break. She closed the toilet and sat on it, then got her phone out and text Cameron.

'Hi Cam. It's me, Bella. Well, I just wanted to know how everything is there. I miss you. Love, Bella. Ps: tell Miss Jane I sent a hug'

She sat there waiting for a reply but 10 minutes had passed and none came. Cameron always answered her right away. Bella felt as tears filled her eyes. She let out a sob and hugged her knees and just cried. Suddenly she heard the bell ring. She walked out and washed her face trying to get her composure back to normal. She checked her phone one last time and nothing so she headed out.

She entered the science lab and the teacher walked in behind her. The teacher, Misses Edmund, noticed Bella's read eyes before they entered the class room. Isabella headed to her seat with Chloe and the teacher began the lesson.

.

When the bell rang the teacher stood up in front of everyone and said "Isabella, may I have a word with you?"

Isabella walked to the teacher's table.

"Is everything alright sweetheart?" The lady asked.

"Yeah" Bella said confused.

"It's just that you walked in and you looked pretty down so I wanted to check if everything was okay" she said.

"Yeah it's okay. Thanks" Bella said shyly.

"My husband works at the bureau too. He told me what happened to your mother last Saturday." She said.

"Oh" Bella said.

"I'm really sorry but those agents are troupers you know. They get better in seconds" she smiled at Bella. "My husband Clay told me he sees you there sometimes" she went on and Bella just looked shy.

"If you want to hang out anytime he plays chess too" she said smiling and winking at Bella.

"Cool. What's he's job there?" Bella asked.

"Just a desk job. Just lots of paper work" misses Edmund said.

"Oh the paper work. For my mom it's a blessing and a curse" Bella smiled.

"Yeah. But well any time you're there and you're bored go look for him. He'll love some company" Misses Edmund said.

"I will" Bella smiled.

"And anything I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thanks. Have a nice day" Bella said and walked back from the lab to her classroom. She really liked to know Misses Edmund's husband worked with her mom and she liked the lady who was on her late 50's.

When she got to the classroom the English class had already started so she shyly knocked on the door.

"Excuse me" she said blushing opening the door.

"Come on in" Mister Davis said and Bella walked in super embarrassed. "I'll talk to you after class" he said serious. The school had a lot of rules; one of them was not being late.

.

After class M. Davis said "isabella, a minute please" as the students walked out the door.

Isabella turned to Chloe and said "wait outside I'll be right there"

"Okay" Chloe said.

She headed to his desk.

"What happened today that made you late?" He asked.

"I was speaking with Misses Edmund. The science teacher" she said. "I won't be late again." She said fast worried she would get in trouble.

"Oh no it's alright. I'm not one of those" he said referring to the teachers that worried too much about the school's rules. "I just wanted to check if you were okay. I heard some girls are not being very nice" he said.

Isabella wondered how he found out.

"Oh it's fine." Bella said.

He smiled at her and asked "did you finish the book already?"

"Yup" she said.

"You like to read, right?" He asked and she nodded.

"Alright. That's it. Have a nice afternoon" he said.

"You too" Bella said and she walked out.

Chloe was waiting for her. "Did you get in trouble?" She asked.

"nop" Bella said confused. Chloe said "good" and they laughed and walked to get Millie.

.

The car ride back home was okay.

Bella walked inside her apartment and found her mother on the phone with Penelope. She waved at Emily and headed upstairs. Emily talked to Penelope about going out the next day. Penelope wanted to take Emily to a restaurant she went with JJ sometime before and really liked. She finished the call and walked to Isabella's bedroom.

"Hi" she said walking in and smiling at Bella.

"Do you wanna go grab some food?" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said since she didn't have anything better to do.

"Alright so go change and I'll be waiting downstairs" Emily said giving Bella a kiss on the head.

Isabella changed into a navy blue dress, white tights and her red rain boots and walked downstairs.

"Looking good honey" Emily smiled.

"You too mom" Bella said smiling.

" so... Let's go?" Emily said.

They got their coats and headed to the car and drove to chick-Fil-a.

.

"So how was school today?" Emily asked, taking her jacket off. Isabella shrugged at the mention of the school.

"Regular, I guess" Bella replied.

"So regular is good?" Emily smiled. Bella nodded, chewing her lip.

"So what do you want to eat?" Emily asked.

"Fries and a Coke?" Bella said hopeful.

"No sandwich?" Emily asked a little worried and Bella shook her head no.

"Okay" Emily said and walked to the line to order.

.

After a while Emily got back to the table with their food.

They ate and chatted. After they were done they headed straight back home.

"I'm gonna shower okay mom?" Bella said looking exhausted.

"Okay. Shower and come watch a movie with me" Emily said noticing the bags that were starting to appear under Isabella's eyes.

As Bella headed to the stairs Emily couldn't help but notice how skinny Bella had got. She really didn't want to force Bella into eating but she could see the kid would end up sick so she decided it was time. She knew John would have done it a long time. Emily had to toughen up and do it. Isabella had to eat. She put some pasta on the stove and sat in the living room. While Bella showered, Emily watched tv.

After sometime Emily realized Bella was taking too long to go back down so she went upstairs.

When she got to Isabella's bedroom she found the girl laying on the bed with a book in hands.

"What are you reading?" Emily asked.

"Harry potter and the chamber of secrets" Isabella said turning the page.

"I thought we were going to watch a movie together" Emily said.

"I'm tired so I just stayed here" Bella said.

"Why don't you go get in my bed and we can watch a movie in there." Emily said.

Bella got up, market the book, put it on the nightstand and went towards her mother's room.

"I'll bring dinner up to you" Emily said. She heard Bella mutter an "Augghh,".

She finished cooking the spaghetti while Bella laid watching tv in Emily's bedroom. Emily placed a small amount on a plate for Bella and then poured some for herself and headed upstairs.

She walked into the bedroom.

"Here. Your favorite" Emily said handing the plate to Bella who had just sat up in bed.

"Today young lady, you will eat all of it okay?" Emily said with a little smile and Bella just started at the plate. She did not look very happy. "There's barely any in there, alright? And you need to eat, you're getting too thin" Emily said.

"Oh not you too" Bella said looking upset. Emily stared at her confused.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"Nothing mom. Nothing" Bella said shoving spaghetti in her mouth.

Emily let that go so Bella would eat. She walked to the other side of the bed and sat there.

They watched a tv show and Bella ate everything. Emily could see she didn't look very comfortable eating but she did it.

"Let me take these down" Emily said grabbing the plate. "Go brush your teeth" Emily said and Bella went.

When she finished she went back to Emily's room to find Emily lying in bed. She climbed in next to her mother, and got her blanket from below the pillow.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked knowing what the blanket usually meant.

"Yeah. Are you going to sleep now?" Bella asked.

"I think so." Emily said.

"Okay. I'm gonna sleep too. Goodnight" Bella said snuggling the blanket to her face.

"Alright. Goodnight" Emily said. She couldn't help but feel worried.

Bella fell asleep shortly and Emily watched some tv and texted Hilary saying she would drive Bella to school and offered to take the girls, she watched more tv before finally falling asleep.

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(Thursday)

Emily woke up and saw Bella fast asleep next to her. She checked the clock, 5:44. She got up and went to her closet, changed and went downstairs. She got some paper work she had to do and put it on the dining table and sat to work on them while Bella slept.

At 6:26 Isabella woke up screaming. Emily left all the work on the table and headed up. She walked into her bedroom and Bella was buried in blankets sobbing. Emily's heart broke hearing the sobs of her daughter.

"Bella what happened?" She said heading to the bed and taking of the covers. Isabella had her hands in her face and was crying badly.

"Come here baby" Emily said sitting on the bed pulling Bella up into her arms, feeling pain on her shoulder but pulling the girl up anyways. "It's okay. It's was just a bad dream. It's alright" Emily said trying to calm Bella down.

After about 2 minutes Bella stopped crying.

"I don't wanna go to school" Bella said almost whispering.

"Bella you can't miss school" Emily said.

"Why not?" Isabella cried.

"Because you can't. It's school it's not..." Emily said and took a deep breath not knowing exactly how to explain. "I'm not letting you miss every time you have a bad dream" she said.

"I don't wanna go" Bella cried. "Please mom" she cried.

"No you're not missing school. Okay?" Emily said. She wanted to just hug her baby and stay right there in bed with her all day but she knew that if she let Bella miss she would just keep wanting to miss every day.

"Mom! Please, I don't feel good" Isabella said.

"No. Go get ready come on" Emily said pulling Bella slightly off her lap. Isabella saw her mom wouldn't let her miss so she stood up and ran to her bedroom. Emily jumped as she heard the door smashing. She walked after Bella and opened the door.

"I'll be downstairs waiting." She said. "Don't be late we are giving Chloe and Millie a ride" Emily said and left. She went downstairs knowing breakfast would probably be a big disaster if she tried shoving food down Bella's throat so she prepared some chocolate milk and left in the island for Bella.

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Isabella sat on her bed for a while feeling angry for crying and at Emily for not letting her stay home. She wiped her face and got dressed for school failing to keep other tears at bay. She got her black keds flats on and went to do her hair. She sat in front of the vanity combing her hair, she tried to put into a pony tail and pieces kept failing, she tried braiding it but she was having a hard time holding the parts. She let go and stared at herself in the mirror. Those memories of her dad doing her hair came flushing in. She got really upset and angry so she pushed all the things in her vanity to the ground.

Emily ran to Bella's room after hearing a loud noise and the sound of glass breaking. Emily bursted the door open and Bella was down on the floor trying to pick the glass pieces.

"Bella" Emily said. Isabella could hear the hurt in Emily's voice.

"I'm sorry" she cried standing up.

"What happened honey?" Emily asked walking to Bella and hugging her.

"I'm sorry" Bella said it again and Emily noticed there was nothing left in the vanity.

"Did you pushed it?" Emily asked letting go of the hug.

"I don't know what happened mom when I saw I had already done" she cried and Emily hugged her and they walked to the bed. Emily pulled Bella to her lap. Isabella just cried for a while before the doorbell rang.

"It's them" Emily said and Bella didn't move. "Honey we gotta go" she said.

"I don't wanna go" Isabella said sad.

"I already said you are not staying home" Emily said serious.

"I can go to work with you" Bella said.

"I'm not going to work today and you are NOT missing school" Emily said. Isabella knew her mom was serious about school but she couldn't help but be angry at her for making her go. She stood up, got her bag and headed out. Emily followed her.

"Your breakfast is in the island" Emily said as both got downstairs.

"I'm not hungry" Bella spitted out. Emily could see she was pissed.

"It's not food it's just chocolate milk" Emily said. "Go drink" she demanded.

Isabella went and sat on a stool and started drinking while Emily went to open the door.

"Hi" Hilary said.

"Come on in. Bella is finishing her breakfast" Emily said and they got in.

"Hi" Chloe said to Bella.

"Hi" Bella said. Her eyes were red. Chloe knew she had been crying.

Isabella finished drinking and put the glass on the sink and got her bag. They were all there so she knew there was no way Emily would let her stay home now.

"Let's go then" Emily said. The girls said goodbye to Hilary and they headed to the car.

Instead of sitting in the front seat next to Emily, Isabella sat on the back with Chloe and Millie. She sat on the window seat behind Emily. Emily drove to the school and Bella cried all the way, trying her best to hide from everyone. She tried to keep the tears in but she just felt so angry and sad.

When Emily parked, the girls unbuckled and Bella hurried out of the car and waited for Chloe and Millie to come out. Chloe gave Emily a smile feeling sorry for the way Bella was acting then got out.

"Have a good day girls" Emily said trying not to sound upset.

"You too" Chloe said and Millie smiled and waved bye, while Bella just stood there.

"Bye bells" Emily said.

Isabella didn't say anything so Chloe said "bye" and they walked away.

Emily tried not to look hurt.

The girls walked to the stairs and Emily waited for Bella to go in as she always did. This time Isabella didn't look back, she just went in, but Chloe saw that and she looked back and waved at Emily. Emily felt good that Chloe would be there with Bella and maybe they could talk about things and perhaps that would help the girl. She waved back and drove back home.

At home she spent the entire day reading a book and sleeping. Her shoulder still hurt a little but nothing major.

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At the school Bella refused to talk to Chloe and Gavin about what had happened. She just kept saying she was okay and everything was just fine. Of course her friends knew that wasn't true.

The first two classes went on okay. Bella tried hard to concentrate in the school and not back at home. During lunch break they bought their food and sat in the cafeteria. Isabella got chips and salsa.

The other two classes they had that day were okay as well. After school was over Gavin had a meeting with the principal and Chloe and Bella picked Millie up and headed to the bus. As they were walking to the bus stop those 4 girls appeared.

"Hello you two" Yuna said coming in front of them with Vanessa, making them stop walking.

"So Isabella I heard what happened to your mom. Poor thing" Vanessa said and Bella eyes widened.

"Well I hope she doesn't end up like your dad" Vanessa said.

Isabella just ran off to the bus stop. Chloe followed her. Both girls had tears in their eyes. Chloe grabbed Bella's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Don't listen to them" Chloe said serious holding her tears in as Bella wiped hers. The girls just looked at them and left. Chloe couldn't believe how they could be so mean.

"They are just mean bella" Millie said.

"Let's just go" Bella said and they went inside the bus.


	36. Chapter 36: Good Times Bad Times

…

"Hi honey" Emily said as Bella walked in the apartment.

"Hi" Bella said serious. She was still upset about what happened in the morning.

"So how was school? Was it too bad?" Emily asked.

"It was crap" Bella said serious and Emily stood up.

"I'm sorry, okay? But school is school. And you need to be responsible about it" Emily said. Isabella just didn't want to talk about that so she managed a little smile and said : " I know" and threw her bag in the island.

Emily smiled back and walked to hug her. They hugged and Bella let go and went up the stairs. She sat on her desk and started working on her homework.

.

After about half an hour Emily went up.

"Bella?" She called walking into Isabella's bedroom. Bella was still sitting on her desk doing homework. She looked at Emily who walked in and sat on the bed.

"Penelope wants to show us this cool restaurant she went with JJ." Emily started and Bella just stared. "So go get ready, alright? We're leaving in 20." Emily said and just walked out. Bella didn't feel like going anywhere but she finished her science homework and changed. She put on jeans, a purple shirt and her red rain boots, and headed downstairs. Emily was ready waiting for her in the couch.

"What's with the boots?" She asked Bella noticing how often the kid had been wearing it.

"Nothing" Bella said.

"So Let's go?" Emily asked and Bella said "yes". And they headed out.

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"How are you lovely ladies this afternoon?" Penelope said when she saw the two.

"We're good now," Emily replied taking what had happened earlier in the morning.

"I need to go to the bathroom" Bella said.

"Go ahead munchkin" Penelope told her and she walked away.

"So what happened? She looks a bit down" Penelope said as she went to a table with Emily.

"Horrible morning today." Emily said and Penelope gave her a look as telling her to spit it out. "She didn't want to go to school and cried the whole drive there" Emily admitted.

"Oh." Penelope said.

"She'll be alright" Emily smiled at her friend and they started at the menus.

"I'll get a Caesar's salad" Penelope said. "What about you?"

"Grilled chicken sounds amazing" Emily said.

"And Bella?" Penelope asked.

"I doubt she'll eat anything" Emily said.

"Order desert then. No one can resist an ice cream" Penelope said and Emily laughed.

"Let me go order" Emily said and walked away.

Bella got back, sat for a while but didn't say a word. Once the food was done Emily called Penelope to help her take to the table, so Penelope walked there to help. A few moments later they were heading to the table. Emily froze when she didn't see Bella there. She snapped her head to the side, scouring the room. Meanwhile, Penelope was setting down her food on the table.

"Emily?" Penelope said, frowning in confusion.

"Where is she?" she said firmly, her eyes darting around. "Bella" Emily snapped. "Where's Bella?"

"I'm here" Bella said coming behind her and walking to her chair.

"Where the heck did you go?" Emily asked pissed.

"I went to the bathroom again." Bella said sitting down.

"Don't just walk away" Emily said.

"Okay. Sorry" Bella said a bit confused.

"We got you ice cream!" Penelope said excited breaking the horrible mood.

Bella managed a small smile and started eating the ice cream.

Bella texted Chloe telling her not to go over to the apartment because she was out with her mom.

They chatted and then left around 6:20.

.

At home Bella and Emily both went to take a shower and then Emily headed to the living room while Bella finished her homework. Later Bella went down and They watched some tv and around 8:30 Emily decided it was time to tell Bella she would be back at work the next day.

"Bella. We need to talk" she said and Bella stared at her.

"What it it?" Bella said dryly.

"I'm clear to work tomorrow." Emily said and she could see disappointment in her daughter's face even though Bella tried to hide it. "I'll be working from the office so don't worry I'll be fine" Emily said.

"Okay" Isabella said looking back at the tv. Emily could tell she was upset but she thought that talking about it would make it worse at the moment so she decided that she would sit down with Bella on Saturday and have a serious conversation about her work and everything.

"Okay then" Emily said and stared back at the tv.

After a while Emily walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed the home phone. "I'm ordering yaksoba for dinner" she said and Bella didn't even move an inch. She ordered the food and headed back to the couch hoping the kid would just eat. They watched tv and it was 9:13 when the food arrived. Emily grabbed a plate, knowing Bella wouldn't eat everything that came in the box, she poured some on it and placed it on the island and said "Bella come eat". Isabella walked there, sat and ate everything that was on her plate without saying a word. Emily tried talking to her, she asked if she was excited about choir and all she got was an "uhum". Isabella could feel her face burning up. After eating she headed to her bedroom and at the bottom of the stair she said "I'm gonna change my clothes".

"Okay" Emily said and Bella went up. Isabella walked to her bathroom. She got in and locked the door. She felt like she was about to explode. She sat on the floor and just cried for about 5 minutes. After calming herself up she washed her face and got out. She grabbed her pajamas and changed. She went to Emily's bedroom and got her blanket and headed back to her room and laid in bed. She tried to force herself to go to sleep and eventually she did.

Around 10, Emily thought Bella was too quiet and she was taking too long to go down so she went up to check on her. She opened the bedroom door and Bella was sleeping already.

Emily pulled the covers higher and gave Bella's forehead a kiss. Then she turned the light off and headed to her bedroom. She showered, checked on the child again and then went to bed.

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 **(Friday)**

Isabella woke up several times during the night, tears flooding because of the thoughts about her father. She just missed him so much.

It was around 4 when she got out of bed and searched her wardrobe for a photo album; she got it and then laid in bed again to see the pictures. It was filled with pictures of her and her dad. There were also some of them with Emily and Jeremy. Pictures of birthdays and fun things they did together. The last picture was one that Jeremy had taken a couple of days after Isabella's 10th birthday. Emily met them in NYC and they had cake in the hotel for her. The picture was Emily and John with a big smile all dirty with cake and Bella in the middle of them with her face covered in cake. They made a mess in the hotel room.

Bella couldn't help but smile at the thought of that day. It was just them and it was one of the best birthdays she had. The smile faded when she remembered her dad was already sick when they took that photograph. She felt her heart ache as she noticed that her dad did look a bit sick in the picture. She started thinking if he thought that was their last birthday together. Tears started steaming rapidly down her face.

She hugged the album and just cried herself back to sleep.

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Emily woke up with the alarm clock at 6:30 and headed to wake Bella up hoping the morning would go smooth. She walked in and smiled at the sight of Bella with the photo album. She got closer to the bed and picked it up and stared at the picture of the birthday. Her eyes filled with tears but her smile didn't fade. She placed the album in the night stand and sat on the bed to wake Bella up.

"Bella" she said softly pushing the hair out of the child's face. "Honey it's time for school" she said and Isabella opened her eyes, which were red and puffy from crying so much.

"Good morning" Emily said. Isabella just sat up and hugged Emily tight. "Good morning mommy" she replied.

Emily could hear the pain in her voice.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked pulling out of the hug.

"I don't know" Bella said. "I'm okay, I guess"

She knew Bella was not okay. She wanted to just sit back on the bed and talk to Bella about things but she knew that if she did that there was no way the kid would go to school and she would probably have to miss work. She knew Bella was holding too many things inside and she knew that she would break eventually.

"Okay. So go get ready." She said and kissed Bella's cheek and went out.

Isabella stared at the photo album in the nightstand and then got up. She showered and got dressed. Then she headed downstairs. Emily had made waffles and cut some strawberries.

Isabella ate almost everything Emily put on the plate but she was feeling really sick.

"Mom? Is it okay if I leave this? I don't feel very good" Bella said. Emily thought Bella looked like she was about to throw up.

"Sure." Emily said. "Go brush your teeth so we can go" she said finishing her coffee. Isabella did what she was told and they drove to school.

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Emily walked in the common area where her desk was and the team greeted her happy.

"How are you feeling?" Penelope asked, giving her a hug.

"I'm fine," Emily told them. "Seriously. I'm great. Everyone can stop freaking out."

"We're just worried about you, Em," Morgan said, taking his turn to hug her. "How's Little Prentiss?" He asked.

"she's hanging there." Emily said and headed to her desk.

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The school day went by fast. They had World history and Geography before lunch, which were cool classes. The teachers were nice. At lunch they headed to the lounge close to the library and those 4 girls were already there. They bullied Gavin for being overweight and the girls for hanging out with him. Gavin didn't seem to care about it but Chloe and Bella did. Isabella just felt like she was about to explode whenever those girls were around.

After lunch they headed to math class and Bella texted her mother.

'Hi mom. I was wondering if it would be alright if I went to the apartment after school. I need to work on a project and I can't really do that in the BAU. Don't worry I'm used to being at home alone, it's fine. Love, Bella'

.

Emily was working on some paper work on her desk when she got the text.

"Oh great" she said after reading it.

"What happened?" Derek Morgan asked.

"Bella wants to go home after school" she said with a concern look on her face.

"She doesn't want to come here?" Spencer asked a bit hurt.

"She has a project to do and she can't do it here you know" Emily said understanding but concern.

"Oh Em. She'll be fine" Derek said. "It won't be the first time"

"It will be here." Emily said.

"I'm sure she'll be okay. And it's just for a couple of hours." He said.

"Do you really think she'll be alright?" She asked.

"It's a safe building on a safe neighborhood, Hilary's girls will be right downstairs and she's a smart kid... and it's just a couple of hours. Just relax" Morgan said and Emily said yeah and texted Bella.

'Okay you can go. Please remember to lock all the doors and the windows. Do not open the door to anyone but Hilary or the team. I'll be home around 5. Take care and text me when you get there. xx mom'

Isabella read and whispered to Gavin: "I'm heading home after class."

"Isn't your mom working?" He asked.

"she'll be home before I get there" Bella lied. She wanted to be alone.

.

So after the last class they picked up Millie and headed to the bus. Bella rode the same bus as Chloe since they were both going home.

Bella opened the apartment door and walked in heading straight to the living room. She threw her backpack on the floor next to the couch and turned the tv on. She went around the place locking everything and then she laid down on the couch to watch tv. She watched about 10 minutes of Masterchef and fell asleep. She was just so tired from the night before.

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It was 6:27pm when Emily walked in the apartment. She saw the tv was on so she headed to the living room. She smiled at the sight of Bella passed out on the couch still in her uniform and she had her shoes on too. She decided to cook dinner since it was almost 7. She cooked chicken, rice and mashed potatoes and woke Bella up to eat at 8:10.

"Hey honey" Emily said kneeing down in front of the couch. "Dinners ready" she said and Bella opened her eyes. "Hi" Emily said.

"Hi" Bella said embarrassed.

"Did you work on your project?" Emily asked even though she knew the girl probably lied about having one.

"Yeah" Isabella lied.

"Okay" Emily said with a sweet smile trying to hide the 'I know the truth' face. She wasn't mad at the girl, she knew Bella just wanted some time.

Isabella got up and they headed to the dining room. They ate and midway through the food Bella started feeling sick. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"Mom. I think I'm done" Isabella said avoiding eye contact with her mother.

"No you're not. You didn't even eat half of it" Emily said serious.

"I don't feel good" Bella said.

"You don't feel good because you're not eating right" Emily said knowing that wasn't true but it was worth to try.

"I can't breathe" Bella said and her breathing got really heavy. Emily stood up and ran to Bella's side.

"Put your head between your legs" she said guiding Bella. Isabella tried concentrating on her breathing as tears fell down her face.

After a while it went back to normal. She sat up and Emily sat next to her.

"Look at me" Emily said putting her hand on Bella's cheek to wipe her tears. Isabella looked at her and the look on the child's face broke her heart but she knew the kid had to eat or she would get sick. She wiped Isabella's tears then pulled the plate closer.

"Come on just finish this" she said.

"Mom I don't feel good" Bella said.

"It's going to make you feel better" Emily said.

"No it won't!" She said louder than normal.

"You're not leaving this table till you're done" Emily said serious. "I am really sorry you're feeling like this but believe me it will be way worse if you're in a hospital" she said and went back to finish her own plate. Isabella just sat there with tears rolling down her face till she finished the food. Emily tried hard to keep her composure but she also wanted to cry. She hated doing that to Bella but she was her mother and she knew that was for Bella's own good.

"I'm done" Isabella said and stood up.

"Put it on the sink for me" Emily said. Isabella went and did that then went back to the couch.

Emily finished getting the things off the dining table and headed to talk to Bella in the living room. She was feeling really bad for forcing the child to eat and she wanted to make sure Bella knew it was for her own good even if she hated her for it.

"Bells." Emily said sitting next to Bella on the couch. Bella didn't take her eyes of the tv. "We need to talk" Emily said and Bella still didn't look. Emily got the remote and turned it off.

"What is it?" Bella said serious staring at Emily.

"I want to say that I'm sorry for doing that" Emily started. "I know you don't want to eat and you're not feeling good but I'm not allowing you to get sick, honey" she said pausing to see Bella's reaction. Isabella just looked pissed. "I know you're probably mad at me right now but that won't change anything. You barely had any food the whole day. I'm sure you don't even have lunch at school, do you?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Isabella said through her teeth.

"What do you eat for lunch there Bella?" Emily asked.

"I do eat okay?! I do. It's not my fault it's not the amount you like" she said pissed.

"It's not the amount I like honey. It's the one that's healthy for you" Emily said. "Bella you look so skinny baby. That's not healthy" she said and she could see the change on Bella's face. Isabella looked not only pissed but also hurt by that.

"I'm just fine. I've always been skinny" Isabella said.

"Not like this" Emily replied.

"Whatever. I don't give a damn about that and you shouldn't too. Dad didn't care so just leave it" Isabella said raising her voice and ran upstairs. Emily flinched with the loud sound of the door smashing. She hated doing that, she hated seeing Bella like that, but she knew she would hate it even more if Isabella ended up sick in a hospital bed.

.

Bella jumped in bed and got her phone out of her pocket. She sent a text to Cameron saying that she wanted to go home and that she missed her and her dad and that she hated DC.

A couple of minutes passed and Bella just laid there waiting for a reply but she didn't get one so she started to cry again but without making a sound. She just laid there crying till she fell asleep.

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Emily wanted to give Bella some space after their fight so she waited almost an hour before going up to check on Bella. She walked in the room and Isabella was fast asleep. She took Isabella's shoes off and covered her up placing a kiss on her head before heading out. She felt really bad for not being able to help her daughter. She went back downstairs and called Derek Shepherd. She told him about the eating thing, and about how Bella was acting and her school. And then she called Jeremy to tell the same things. She felt like they would think she was failing as a mother but she knew they knew Bella and they would know how to help. She also told them that she was going to take Bella to DC in the next weekend and they decided to talk to Bella when they were all together. Emily thought that was a good idea because she felt like if things kept going like they were Isabella would end up hating her.

After talking to them Emily headed to take a shower.

Once done she checked on Bella again and the kid was still sleeping in the same position. She sat next to Bella on the bed and just stared at her.

"I'm so sorry" she said, her eyes filling with tears. She just felt so bad for the girl. She kissed Bella's forehead and then went to her own bed.

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 **(Saturday)**

Emily woke up at 9:21. She stayed in bed for a while and then decided to work on some paper work she had to do so she got up brushed her teeth and headed to the kitchen. She made coffee and drank it. Then she got the cereal and a bowl out and placed in the island to wait for Bella. She went and sat in the island with her work.

Isabella got down almost an hour later. Emily let her sleep since she wasn't sleeping very well and it was Saturday after all.

Isabella walked to the island.

"Good morning" Emily said.

"Good morning" Bella said still sounding upset and sat in the seat facing the bowl. Emily got up and went to get the milk. Bella poured a little bit in and when she was about to close the box Emily said, grabbing the box and the bowl "let me do it". Isabella just stared at the island avoiding eye contact. Emily poured some more cereal and then milk. "There you go" Emily said once she was finished then she sat back on her seat and Isabella began eating. It was almost 11 when Isabella finished eating after a long time of just playing around with the food. Emily didn't hurry her since the point was getting her to eat and it didn't matter how long that would take. Bella took the bowl to the sink and went to the living room and turned the tv on. She had watched half of a Friends episode when Chloe called asking if she wanted to go to a museum.

"Sure. Let me ask my mom" Isabella said suddenly sounding excited.

"Mom? Chloe is going to the National History Museum. Can I go with her?" Isabella asked Emily still holding her phone in her ear. Emily took a moment to think about it.

"Yeah. You can go" Emily said giving Bella a smile in the end. Isabella still stared at her looking serious.

" she said yes" Bella told Chloe.

"Alright so my mom will take us in 20 minutes. Okay?" Chloe said.

"20 minutes?" Bella asked surprised.

"Yeah. Just go get ready so we can get there before the place gets packed" Chloe said.

"Okay bye" Bella said really fast and hung up.

"We're leaving in 20" Bella said to Emily and ran upstairs. "I'm gonna change!" She shouted. Emily smiled at her daughter's excitement. She then decided to invite JJ and Penelope over. So she called the and both said of course.

.

It wasn't long till Bella ran back downstairs. She had her hair laid down, dark blue jeans, a NYC shirt and her black doc martins. She also had a purple jacket wrapped in her waist since the weather looked weird. She drank a glass of water and suddenly the doorbell rang.

"It's her" Bella said running to the door. "Do I look to bad?" She asked Emily before opening.

"You look great honey" Emily smiled and Bella turned around and opened the door.

"Hi" Chloe said and hugged Bella. "Hi Miss Prentiss" she said smiling at Emily.

"Hi Chloe" Emily smiled and walked to the door. She gave Chloe a hug and then asked: "you guys are only going to the museum or are you stopping somewhere else?"

"As far as I know just the museum. If my mom decides to go somewhere else afterwards we'll let you know" Chloe said.

"Okay." Emily smiled. "Alright then. Anything just call" Emily said and hugged Bella. "Have fun" she said.

"Bye" Bella said letting go of the hug and walking out. She didn't even look at Emily. Emily tried hiding the hurt and gave Chloe a little smile. "Be safe okay girls?" She said.

"Okay. Bye" Chloe said and she ran to catch up on Bella who was already walking to the elevator.

Emily closed the door.

"So what was that?" Chloe asked Bella.

"Nothing. She's just acting weird" Bella said.

"I think you are the one acting weird Bella" Chloe said. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's fine. Really don't worry about it" Bella said smiling as if nothing was wrong. Chloe just made a face at her as if she knew it was a lie and they headed to the car. The drive to the museum was fine. Millie was super excited. And they ended up having a really great time. After walking around half of the place Millie was a bit tired and hungry so they stopped at a coffee place inside to buy her a treat and to sit for a while. While waiting for Millie to eat, Bella played on her phone till she got a call.

"Hello?" She said sounding pissed off. It was Cameron.

"Hi Bella"

"Why aren't you answering me Cam?" Bella asked standing up and walking away from Hilary and the girls so she could talk in private.

"I'm really sorry B. I lost my charger and I could only head to town to buy one today." Cameron said.

"Whatever" Isabella said.

"I really am sorry. But what exactly happened?" Cameron asked worried.

"Nothing. Well, it's fine now anyways" Isabella said. "I actually have to go. I'm in the museum with Chloe and her family, okay? We can talk later maybe if you don't lose your phone or break it or something" Bella said.

"Okay" Cameron agreed. She knew Bella wouldn't tell her anything at the time.

"Bye" Isabella said and hung up. She put her phone in her pocket and headed back to the coffee place.

"What happened?" Chloe asked.

"I just wish I could go home" Bella said sitting down and putting her purple jacket on.

"Do you want me to take you now?" Hilary asked.

"No it's fine. It's not here." Bella said but the women didn't really understood what she meant.

"Do you want a drink?" She asked changing the subject.

"I'll take a mocha actually" Chloe said.

"Good idea" Bella said standing up and heading to the counter. After a while she went back to the table with two mochas. They drank it while Millie played with the doll she had taken. Once they were done they walked around the museum some more. Isabella loved that placed. Everything in it was so cool. It was 2:30 when Hilary said they should have lunch. So they agreed on going to the mall to eat. Bella texted Emily:

'We're having lunch at the mall with Hilary. Xx- B'

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Back at the apartment Emily who had just finished lunch with her two friends picked her phone to read the message.

"She's heading to the mall to eat" Emily said.

"That's probably good" Penelope said. "I mean she'll have to eat something"

"That really doesn't mean anything Penelope. She's stubborn and I'm sure she'll barely eat anything even with Hilary there" Emily said.

"She's stubborn just like her mama" Penelope said smiling.

"Sometimes I wish she wasn't so much like me you know" Emily confessed.

"Yeah. You're a complicated being" JJ joked and they laughed and headed to the living room to watch a movie.

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At the mall they decided to eat at Chick-Fil-A. Isabella knew how big their sandwiches were so she bought chicken nuggets, fries, and a coke. Surprisingly she ate almost everything, she just left some fries. Isabella didn't feel so bad eating there, she was distracted with everything around her and Millie playing like crazy and Chloe talking to Hilary about the museum.

Once they were done eating Chloe asked Hilary if they could stay in the mall for a while.

"Honey I need to stop by the office before it closes" Hilary said.

"Mom it's Saturday" Chloe said.

"I just need to get some papers." Hilary said.

"Can we both stay then?" Chloe asked looking at Bella and then looking at her mom.

"No way" Hilary said.

"Please mom" Chloe said.

"Let's go. We can stay for 20 minutes" Hilary said and Chloe hugged her, Isabella smiled.

Suddenly Bella's phone rang.

Isabella picked her phone and answered.

"Mom?" She said.

"Hi honey" Emily said. "Are you coming home now?"

"We're staying for a while at the mall okay? We're just gonna walk around" Bella said.

"Alright. Anything just call. I just wanted to check on you" Emily said.

"Im okay" Bella said.

"Hi peanut!" Penelope said grabbing the phone out of Emily's hand.

"Penny?" Bella asked.

"Yes!" Penelope smiled. "Have fun okay" Penelope said. "Bye" she said and before Bella could answer she hung up. Isabella laughed and Chloe asked what happened. Bella told about Penelope and they both laughed and then Chloe said she had saved up money and she wanted to get a pair of doc martins.

"The sparkly one?" Bella asked excited.

"I'm not sure yet. I wanna try some on before I decide" Chloe said.

"Yeeees!" Bella celebrated. "I took you to the dark side" Bella joked.

"You're not darth vader" Chloe said making a face and Bella laughed.

"Can we go to hot topic first?" Bella asked when she spotted the store.

"Sure" Chloe said and they headed there. Bella bought some things, Chloe bought an Alice in wonderland throw for her bed and Hilary bought Millie some Disney Funko figures. Then they went to look for the doc martins. Isabella thought they would stay in that store forever. Chloe had tried about 4 different pairs on and she couldn't make her mind. After a lot of debating she was between two: the pink sparkly one or just the regular black like bella's.

"Come on you gotta chose. We've been here forever" Isabella said making a tired face. "I like shopping for these but not the entire day"

"I don't know which one" Chloe said.

Hilary had had enough.

"Alright so you buy the sparkly one and I'll buy you the black one" Hilary said already picking up the boxes.

"What? No! Are you crazy?" Chloe asked. "It's expensive." Chloe said serious.

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. I'm buying." Hilary said staring at Chloe and then turned to the guy who was helping them "This is it. I'll take this one" she said handing the box to him.

"Mom" Chloe said.

"It's fine. It's your birthday gift" Hilary said.

"My birthday already passed. Come on it's okay. I don't need both" Chloe said.

"You are a good kid Chlo. And it's been a long time since I got you a gift right? Just be happy like a normal kid would" Hilary said.

"You are crazy" Chloe said unable to keep a smile hidden.

"I'm crazy and I'm buying it" Hilary smiled.

"Fine" Chloe said. "Okay so I'll take this one" Chloe said handing over the box to the guy. They paid and left the store.

"You deserve it" Bella said smiling.

"Thanks" Chloe said.

"You're my best friend you know" Bella said.

"You're mine too" Chloe smiled and they walked to JcPenny.

Isabella had said earlier she wanted to get a jacket she saw on the website a couple of days before. They had been walking around the store for a while and they were away from Hilary and Millie when Chloe said: "Bella? You said I'm your best friend, right?" Isabella just stopped walking and stared at Chloe. "Can you just tell me what's going on with you and your mom?" She asked. She was really worried about Bella.

"She's just doing some things that I don't like I guess" Bella said.

"Like her work?" Chloe asked.

"No. More like around the house. I don't dislike her work you know. it scares me sometimes. But that doesn't mean I actually hate her job" Bella admitted.

"What do you mean around the house? Like chores and stuff?" Chloe asked and Bella couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh I wish it was chores" she laughed. "Look" she said now serious. "I know you're worried but don't be, okay? There's no reason to. We just had a little fight but everything is okay." Bella said walking again and Chloe followed her.

"If you say so" Chloe said. "But anything you can just tell me, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said. "Thanks. And You too" she smiled and they kept walking.

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They stayed at the mall way longer than 20 minutes.

"I think we should go home" Bella said.

"Do you want to have dinner first? It's kinda late" Hilary asked. Bella thought a little bit about it and said yes. She really didn't want to have dinner with her mother again.

So they went to the Cheesecake Factory. The place was packet so Hilary sat with Millie in one table and Bella and Chloe shared one. They didn't have any big ones available.

Isabella ordered from the kids menu and when the food got there Chloe asked why she doesn't eat very much.

"I don't feel very good when I eat I guess" Bella said.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked a bit confused.

"After my dad died I've had a couple of panic attacks and it usually happens when I'm eating so whenever I eat anything I start feeling weird. I don't know" Isabella admitted. She finally felt like she could open up to Chloe about things.

"Oh" Chloe said. She didn't really know what to say.

"That was the reason of the fight with my mom" Bella said and Chloe just stayed quiet letting Bella open up to her. "She was okay with me just trying to eat and then all the sudden she started forcing me... And it's awful. I just feel like I'm gonna explode or something. And I don't feel good at all" Isabella said, her eyes filled with tears.

Chloe held her hand.

"Hey don't cry" she said and Bella stared at her. "I'm sure it will go away soon. You just need to go slow"

"I hope so" Bella said wiping a tear that escaped.

"I can try to help. You should try it at school. Just try eating a little bit more every time. And no one is gonna be there to pressure you to eat so you can just try it" Chloe said.

"Yeah. Maybe it will work" Bella said and they both smiled. "Can you not tell anyone any of this?" Bella said.

"Sure" Chloe said and they continued eating without mentioning the subject again.

It was almost 7 when they headed home.

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Isabella got home to find Emily eating some leftover food from lunch.

"Hi" Emily said.

"Hi Mom" Bella said placing her bags on the floor and taking her shoes off, leaving them there. "Where's Penelope?" She asked and grabbed the bags.

"JJ and she came for lunch and we watched a movie. They headed home a while ago. They'll come by tomorrow" Emily said. "How was it?" She asked.

"It was cool. We just walked. A ton" Bella said walking to the stairs and Emily smiled getting a pick of her baby's humor back.

"Cool" Emily said as Bella reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm gonna put this stuff away" Bella said.

"Okay. And then come down to have dinner" Emily said.

"We already ate at the Cheesecake Factory " Bella said starting to go up.

"You did?" Emily asked not really believing it.

"Yes. Call Hilary mom. I'm sure she can tell you exactly what I ate" Bella said and ran up. Emily just stayed quiet and grabbed the phone. She had to make sure Bella was not lying. Hilary told her exactly what Bella ate and said there was a bit of chicken left on the plate but she ate well. So Emily decided not to bring the food up again.

.

Upstairs Isabella took the things out of the bags. She had bought a red hoodie, two shirts and a pair of floral keds flats. She spent some of her saved up money from her allowance. She wasn't planning on using that anymore so she just bought some things she liked. She felt her phone vibrating so she took it out of her pocket. It was Cameron.

'So what happened?' The text said. Isabella didn't feel like talking so she replied:

'As I said it's fine now. And I'm busy. I'll talk to you soon. X'

Then Cameron sent 'I'm sorry and I'm here' Isabella just stared at the message and threw her phone on the bed. She got a book and leaned in the head of the bed to read. 'Fallen' was the name of the book. She read a couple of pages and exhaustion took over and she ended up falling asleep. After about 35 minutes Emily went up to see what Bella had bought and she smiled when she found the girl sleeping with the book on her hands. Emily put the book in the nightstand, covered Bella up and gave her a kiss on the side of the forehead. Suddenly Bella's eyes slightly opened.

"Goodnight" Isabella whispered and closed her eyes again.

"Goodnight Bells" Emily said giving Bella another kiss then she turned the light off and the little night light on and left. She headed to her bathroom and took a shower. She got dressed and laid in bed to watch tv. It wasn't long till she fell asleep.

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 **(Sunday)**

Isabella woke up around 8 and stayed in bed reading her book till almost 9:30. She then headed downstairs and wasn't very happy to find Emily cooking breakfast.

"Good morning" Emily said as Isabella walked to the island.

"Good morning" Isabella said biting her lip. She sat down and poured some orange juice. Emily poured some scramble eggs and a strip of bacon on Bella's plate. Bella looked surprise with the small amount of food.

"You have to eat all of it, okay?" Emily said smiling noticing Bella's surprised look.

"Okay" Bella said keeping a straight face and started to eat.

Emily finished cooking hers and sat next to Bella to eat.

Once they were done they headed to the living room for some tv. They were watching and episode of Friends when Bella got a text from Gavin.

'Hi! my mom is going out right now and I was thinking maybe I could stay at your house while she gets things done. We could watch a movie'

Isabella smiled at the text. "Mom? Can Gavin come over?" She asked Emily.

"Sure" Emily smiled.

"Can Chloe too?" She asked shyly.

"Of course she can honey" Emily said and Bella smiled and texted her friends. Both of them said they would be there any minute so Bella went up to change and then she waited in the living room.

About 5 minutes later Chloe rang the bell. The girls just chilled at Bella's room talking about books and then Gavin arrived. They decided to watch 'Billie Elliot Live'. When the movie was done it was almost 1 so Emily said:

"What do you guys want for lunch?"

"Pizza?" Bella asked.

"Pizza? For lunch I don't think so" Emily said.

"Just today" Bella said.

"Just this time then" she gave in happy that the girl seemed to be excited about it. And the three kids smiled.

"Thanks Miss Prentiss" Gavin told Emily who smiled at him.

They ordered pizza and put on another movie. They ate and at 2:32 Emily said she had to go grocery shopping.

"Can we stay here?" Isabella asked walking closer to Emily who had just finished washing the dishes. Emily didn't really want to say yes but the kid looked so happy. She could be tough and strict when she had to but she wouldn't do that if the reason was silly like that so she said yes.

"Thanks mom" Bella said.

"Come here" Emily said pulling Bella into a hug.

"You take care okay. And anything call" she said and then let go of the hug to stare at Bella.

"Okay" Isabella said and Emily left.

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The three kids watched some tv and then decided to play some board games. Chloe went to get some at her house and then they sat at the dinning room to play.

An hour later, they were playing 'Clue' when Emily walked in.

"Hi mom" Bella said.

"Hi guys. Is everything okay here?" Emily asked putting the groceries down.

"Yeah. We're playing" Bella said and her friends smiled.

Emily put away the groceries and joined them.

"It's not fair with you Emily" Chloe said after Emily won the second time.

"Why not?" Emily asked smiling.

"You do this for living mother" Bella said and everyone laughed.

"And you guys study for living, is there any homework waiting to be done?" Emily asked.

"No" the three kids said in unison.

"So how about another game?" Emily asked excited.

"Wait. Mom, can you take a picture of us first? I wanna send it to Jeremy" Bella said.

"Sure" Emily said smiling. She could see the kid was having fun and she loved that. She took her phone out of her pocket and the kids smiled. She smiled as she stared at Isabella's happy face on the screen.

She took the picture and then they went back to playing games.

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After playing a lot, the four of them headed to the living room to watch tv. They went to the fridge to pick some drinks and snacks. Chloe got a bag of Lays and Bella got coke for them while Gavin turned the tv on. Emily poured herself some wine.

"What do you guys want to watch?" Gavin asked.

"I have no idea" Chloe said.

"Oh have you seen 'The 100' ?" Gavin asked and Bella looked interested.

"Isn't that a book?" She asked.

"Yeah. And they made it into a show now. It's cool, I was watching it with my mom the other day" Gavin said.

"It sounds good for me " Bella said.

"Yeah. Let's watch it" Chloe said.

They ate potato chips and watched one episode. When the episode was over Gavin's mom texted him saying she was going up to get him so he told them and Chloe decided to head home too.

Suddenly the bell rang.

"Hi" Bella said opening the door to find Colette.

"The doorman let me up" Colette said and Emily smiled.

"Did you behave?" Colette asked Gavin who was walking to her.

He looked embarrassed but said "yes"

They smiled and said goodbye.

"See ya" Gavin smiled hugging Bella.

"Bye" she said.

"Bye Bell" Chloe said hugging Bella too.

"Bye" Isabella said.

"Bye Emily" Chloe said. Emily smiled and they headed out.

"What a day huh?" Emily said heading to get a drink of water.

"Yeah." Bella said serious noticing two glasses on her mother's hand. She started walking to the stairs. "I'm gonna read for a while" Isabella said still serious. Emily could see the bubbly happy girl from minutes before was gone.

"Okay" Emily said and Bella went up. She drank the water and put away the other glass and headed to the couch to watch some tv.


	37. Chapter 37: Back To Day 1

…It was a little passed 6 when the buzzer rang.

Emily who was downstairs went to see who it was and it was Penelope and JJ with little Henry. They went up and got in.

"So I brought ingredients to make a lasagna. The pasta is finished we pretty much just have to finish everything else." Penelope said.

"Alright" Emily smiled.

"Where's the little one?" JJ asked holding Henry's hand.

"Upstairs." Emily said.

"How's she doing today?" JJ asked.

"Better I guess. Her friends came over and she had fun so" Emily said and JJ smiled.

"Look at this" Emily said walking to the couch to get her phone. She showed them the picture proudly. JJ also noticed the big smile on Isabella's face.

"She looks happy Em" JJ said.

"She does doesn't she?" Emily smiled.

"She's gonna be alright" Penelope said.

"Yeah" JJ said.

"Mommy where Bella?" Henry said and the girls laughed. The little guy wanted his friend.

"I'm gonna go get her okay buddy" Emily said. "You guys make yourself at home" Emily told the girls and went to Bella's bedroom.

"Hey" she said looking at Bella who was laying on the floor next to her bed reading her book. "JJ and Penelope are here"

"Okay" Bella said without even looking up from the book.

"Henry is here" Emily said.

"He is?" Bella asked sitting up, all the sudden excited.

"Yeah. Come on" Emily said smiling and Bella marked her book and ran out.

She was so happy to see the boy and he was beyond excited to play with her. Emily put on Peter Pan on the dvd in the living room while they played with some toys JJ had taken on a little bag while the women cooked dinner. Isabella truly loved Henry. He was so cute. She felt happy around him but she also felt a bit down because she missed Zola and Bailey. She got a little upset thinking about it and went to the bathroom. She worked hard not to cry and then she headed out and went back to playing.

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It was almost 8 when JJ went to get them to have dinner. They headed to the table and Isabella sat next to Emily, Penelope and JJ sat facing them and Henry on the side.

Emily poured some lasagna on Isabella's plate.

Bella had three bites and she started feeling really sick. She tried to take her time and concentrate on her breathing.

JJ realized something was wrong so she signed to Emily. Emily shook her head no as of saying to not mention anything, so they kept eating.

Bella just sat there moving the food around the plate for almost 10 minutes when Emily looked at her and said: "what's going on?"

Isabella just looked down to the floor. She was so embarrassed.

"Bella can you please just explain to me why you don't want to eat? What is the excuse going to be this time?" Emily said serious her voice going up. She was very patient with Bella, she had always been but she couldn't take any more of that. She was scared and she didn't want the girl to end up in a hospital.

"Em" JJ said as she noticed the child's eyes filling with tears.

"No JJ. I'm done with this." Emily said standing up. "I'm not going to sit here while she kills herself. Because that's what she's doing when she refuses to eat every single day" Emily said her voice still way louder than normal. She truly looked and sounded really angry.

"I'm not doing that" Bella said as tears started falling.

"Maybe you're not because I'm not letting you. So you're not leaving this table until you finish all the food on your plate. Do you hear me?" Emily said.

Isabella just looked down and cried.

"Do you hear me?" Emily asked again.

"Yes" Bella cried.

Isabella didn't look up at anyone she just stared at the plate and let her tears fall. She hated all of that. She wanted to go home. She wanted her dad.

Emily sat back down and finished her food.

When everyone finished Isabella was still crying in the same position, she hadn't even try it again. Emily stood up and took the plates to the sink with JJ but they left Bella's there.

JJ took henry to the living room to play and went back to the dining room while Emily was still in the kitchen.

"Bella just try to eat honey" JJ said low so Emily wouldn't hear it from the kitchen.

"I can't do it" Bella cried.

"Yes you can honey. Just go slow" JJ said picking up the glasses from the table.

"I can't" Bella cried. Penelope got up and walked to where Bella was sitting.

"Stand up" she said grabbing Bella's hand. Isabella stood up and Penelope sat down and pulled her to her lap. Penelope cut some lasagna and passed the fork to Bella. "Just try it" She said and Bella just stared at it.

"Pumpkin just try. Your mom won't let you get out. come on, you can do it" Penelope said.

"I'm gonna wait outside" JJ whispered to Penelope. She thought it was best if Penelope tried talking to Bella alone.

"Hey it's just us now. Come on just a little bit more" Penelope said. "Please" she said and Bella took a bite. She swallowed it and Penelope said "see. One down. Come on you've got this"

Isabella ate a bit more but she didn't stop crying. She couldn't control it.

About 3 bites left she started feeling way worse. Her head stared pounding and she could feel her face burning.

"I don't feel good" Bella cried and her breathing got really strange.

"Emily!" Penelope shouted scared not knowing what exactly was going on and in a second Emily ran inside. "She can't breathe" Penelope said really worried.

"Head between your legs Bella" Emily said guiding Bella to another chair. Isabella's face was really red and she was burning up.

"What happened?" JJ asked walking in. She left Henry playing in the living room.

"She's having a panic attack" Emily said with tears in her eyes. She was running her hand on Bella's back trying to calm her down. "It's gonna go away. It always does. Shuuuu calm down" she whispered in Bella's ear.

After a while Bella sat up.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked and Bella just shook her head no.

"Can I got to bed?" She asked with more tears rolling down her face. Emily looked at the plate and said yes. Isabella ran up. She didn't look at anyone, or talked to anyone, she just ran.

"Is this what happens every day?" JJ asked.

"Most of the days" Emily said. "If I force her..." Emily started but didn't finish. "I don't know what to do anymore." She said, tears filling her eyes. "If she needs a hospital they'll put a feeding tube. Can you just imagine that? It's going to be hell. She won't let anyone get near her. I know she hates me right now but I don't want her to get sick. I can't let her get sick." Emily said.

"She won't" Penelope said. "We're gonna buy everything she loves tomorrow and I'll make her eat. Even if I shove it down her throat."

"She'll hate you too" Emily said with a little smile about what Penelope said.

"She doesn't hate you. She's just upset" Penelope said and Emily nodded yes.

They sat on the couch.

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Upstairs Isabella washed her face and sat on the bed. She picked her phone and thought about calling Cameron but the thought of her friend not answering just made her feel worse. She felt like she was light years away from the life she had before her father died and she hated that. She tried hard not to start crying again and decided to read since that always calmed her and helped take her mind off things. She picked up her book and sat on the bed to ready. She failed to keep some tears in but tried hard to keep her mind on the book.

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Downstairs the women talked a bit more about how Bella was doing with everything, like school and friends. They all could agree that Emily getting hurt did take a tool on the girl.

After some more talking Penelope said she would check on her. When she got to Isabella's room the kid was fast asleep holding her book. Penelope picked the book and placed it next to Bella in bed, and then she covered the girl up and turned the light off.

"She's asleep" Penelope said walking back into the living room. "She was reading a book" Penelope smiled.

"You would be surprised at how often that happens" Emily smiled. They all smiled. They talked some more and JJ saw Henry was tired so she decided to go home.

"So I'll see you two tomorrow" JJ said. The women agreed and JJ and Penelope left. JJ dropped Penelope off and then headed home with Henry. Henry asked her why Bella was sad and all she could say was that the girl was sad because she missed her daddy. The boy seemed to understand a little and gave her a smile and said that he hoped to see Bella soon.

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After cleaning the place up Emily went to take shower then she got dressed and went to check on Bella. She saw Penelope forgot to turn the night light on so she turned it on and closed the door and headed to bed.

She stayed awake for a while thinking about how things were not going great.

It really seemed like every time Bella seemed to get a bit better something happened and they were back to day one.

She could not believe how a good day suddenly became a horrible one.

She couldn't sleep because she couldn't stop thinking about everything so she turned the tv on and just laid there till her eyes finally closed and she fell asleep.


	38. Chapter 38: Not Looking Up

**(Monday)**

It was almost 2am when Isabella jumped awake from a nightmare. She pulled her blanket from below the pillow and cried herself back to sleep. Around 4:30 she jumped up again. She tried hard to go back to sleep and was only able to around 6. She had a horrible night.

At 6:30 Emily woke up with the alarm clock and went to wake Bella. She walked in the bedroom and leaned over her sleeping daughter. Isabella's dark hair was tossed across her pillow and part of her face. Emily soothed it back, revealing Bella's pale cheek.

"Hey," Emily whispered. "Sleeping beauty. temps pour l'école, mon amour. (Time for school my love)" Emily sang quietly. Isabella grumbled, rolling over.

"Come on, honey," Emily said smiling. She pushed open the curtains.

"Come on bellie" Emily said walking out of the room. Isabella stared at the window. She didn't want to go to school and she also didn't want to go to the office. She got up and showered really fast and got dressed. During breakfast, Emily poured Bella some cereal and milk and the little girl sat at the island and ate it as fast as she could. She felt sick but she just shoved it in. After eating she headed back upstairs got her bag and went to lay on the couch in the living room couch. Emily got all her things and when she got to get Bella she was sleeping again.

"Hey. Time to go" Emily said soothing Bella's hair. Bella opened her eyes and got up. They headed to school.

The drive was fine but Isabella didn't say a word. Emily tried talking but Bella just sat there almost falling asleep again. When they arrived Bella said goodbye and Emily told her to call if anything happened. Bella said sure, sounding a bit upset and then she left. When she walked in the school without looking back , Emily sat there feeling broken. She knew the kid was scared and mad about things. She just wished she could make everything okay. But she couldn't.

Isabella headed to PE and found Chloe waiting for her in the entrance.

"Hi" Chloe said hugging Bella. "Are You okay?" She asked noticing Bella's bag under her eyes and the sleepy face.

"Yeah. I'm just really tired" Isabella said and Chloe gave her an understanding smile. They walked in close to the teacher and suddenly Bella felt she was about to have a panic attack again. She just felt so weird and she wasn't sure what was going on.

"I think I'm gonna go sit" Bella said. "I don't feel very good"

"You need to talk to the teacher" Chloe said.

"Okay" Bella said and walked closer to the teacher who was marking who was present there. She told him she wasn't feeling okay and he could see she didn't look very well so he told her to go to the nurse station to get checked. Isabella walked back to Chloe and told her friend where she was going. 

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At the nurse station, the nurse checked her lungs, her heart, her blood pressure and poked her finger to check her sugar level. Everything seemed normal but her heart was beating fast and the sugar was low. The nurse could see the kid didn't look so good.

"Have you been sleeping okay?" She asked and Bella nodded yes. "Not every night?" The nurse asked. She could tell Isabella was lying.

"Not every night" Bella admitted.

"You don't look very good so I'm giving you a pass. You shouldn't do PE like this. Your blood sugar is low" the nurse said. She wrote something on a paper and handed to Bella.

"Go to the cafeteria and give them this. They'll give you some apple juice and then you can just hang out in a lounge or in your classroom, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said.

"The juice might help you feel a bit better."

"Okay" Bella said and headed out. She walked to the cafeteria feeling a bit dizzy, drank the juice and headed to the library. She picked a Charles Dickens book and sat on a desk in the corner looking out the window. There was no one else there, only the library lady. She began reading and she felt tired so she closed the book and laid her head on her arms on the top of the table and ended up falling asleep.

After about 50 minutes the science teacher, Misses Edmund walked in. She wondered why the kid was sleeping there. She walked to the table and sat across from Bella. Isabella woke up when Misses Edmund put her bag on the table.

"Hi" Edmund said with a smile.

"Hi" Bella said. "What time is it?" She asked shyly.

"A little passed 9" the teacher said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I have a pass" Bella said getting the yellow paper out of her pocket.

"Why do you have a pass?"

"I wasn't feeling very good at PE" she answered.

"I hated gym when I was in school" the old lady said and Bella smiled a little. "You look pretty tired. You're not sleeping very well, are you?"

"I don't know. Some days I do but I couldn't really sleep yesterday. I kept waking up" Bella said.

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah" Bella admitted.

"That can be hard" the teacher said with an understanding look. "I used to have a lot about my husband" she said and Bella just stared. "It was awful but it stopped eventually." Again Bella just stared. "Are yours about your mom?" Misses Edmund asked and Bella froze. She took some time to think then finally said "yes".

"I try to tell myself it's not true but..." Bella said as her eyes filled with water. "Sometimes it's hard"

Misses Edmund looked very understanding of the situation. "Look" she said. "It's tough but it gets better honey. It really does"

Isabella just gave her a little smile, pushing her tears away.

Suddenly the bell rang.

"I have to go to class now but whenever you need someone to talk to you can count on me okay?" Misses Edmund said.

"Thanks" Bella said shyly. Misses Edmund stood up and walked to Bella. She gave her a hug and said "they'll go away" and then she left.

Isabella stayed there reading till the lunch bell rang. Chloe had texted her asking if she was okay and she texted back saying yes. They agreed to meet in the cafeteria so when the bell rang Isabella headed there. She found Chloe and Gavin sitting already with food in front of them.

"Hey" Gavin said. "Where have you been?"

"Library" Isabella said siting down.

"I grabbed one for you" Chloe said handing a hot dog to Bella.

"Thanks" Isabella said and took a bite out of it. They talked a bit and Bella ate half of the hotdog which was way better than a little bit of potato chips.

When the bell rang they headed to class. They had science and then geography and then it was done. They headed to the theater because the choir started that day. They sat on the stage with their legs hanging.

"You did a good job at lunch B" Chloe said.

"You don't like eating do you?" Gavin asked.

"I do. it's just a bit hard now" Bella said.

"We can help you with that... Well if you want" Gavin said.

"Yeah. We'll just go slow and with no pressure" Chloe said and Bella managed a little smile.

They just stared at the seats in the theater and then talked a bit about how excited they were. Some other people started to arrive including Vanessa.

"Oh crap! What is she doing here?" Gavin said.

"Oh no" Bella said. "She'll ruin this now"

"Let's not let her do that" Chloe said. "She's alone" Chloe added.

Suddenly the bell rang and it was time.

They walked to class and sat on the chairs. The teacher walked in and talked a bit about how the choir would work.

"So we'll have privates starting next week and we'll pick 6 people for solos." The director said. "Those people will be working hand in hand with some pretty cool singers which will be a surprise" he said. All the kids, ages 9 through 16, looked very excited. The director talked some more and then did some warm ups with them.

When the class was almost done he said: "I have to admit that some of you really impressed me at the auditions. And there were 2 that really stood out. So I wanted the entire choir to watch both perform so I'd like to ask Isabella and Andy to come up here please" he said standing in the middle of the front of the classroom. The classroom was kind of round, and had a lot of instruments around. Isabella froze on the spot. 'What? No! I can't sing in front of everybody right now' she thought in her head. She looked aroung hoping he was talking about some other Isabella but no, it was her.

"Come on don't be shy you two" he said walking to Andy Danniells. He grabbed the teen's hand, Andy was 16, and pulled him to the front and then stared at Bella. "Come on. There won't be nos here" he said.

"Go on Bella" Gavin said between his teeth. Isabella got up and walked to the front. She was blushing.

"Shrimpy" Vanessa whispered once Bella went pass her. Isabella pretended she didn't hear.

"So these two were exceptional at the auditions. It seemed like you were auditioning for a Broadway musical." The director said. "So I was wondering if you two could sing for us'." He said hopeful.

"Sure" Andy said but Bella just stood there embarrassed.

"Yes?" The choir director asked her and she slightly nodded yes.

"Alright then." The direct said walking to the piano. "I'll play" he said sitting down.

"What song guys?" He asked.

Andy looked at Bella and asked "do you want to go first?"

"Yeah" she said and the boy walked to the piano leaving the girl in the middle alone.

"Do you want to sing the one you did at auditions?" the director asked and she nodded yes and suddenly the director started playing. Bella sang. She started out really nervous and then she just kind of let it go and she sounded great. Once done Andy sang.

When they finished the teacher said he had chills and that he was looking forwards for privates with them.

Bella walked back to her seat and she saw that Vanessa looked really jealous.

"That was awesome" Gavin said.

"I didn't know you could sing like that" Chloe said and Bella smiled embarrassed.

The class went on for about 4 minutes and the bell rang. Everyone got their things and headed to the bus. On their way to the bus station Vanessa appeared out of nowhere.

"Next time you might wanna try not to look so red. Shrimpy" she said and walked away.

"Shrimpy? Oh how I love that nickname. It sounds cute" Gavin said smiling.

"Not it doesn't" Bella said not able to keep a smile hidden.

"Come on you did great" Gavin said.

"She's just jealous" Chloe said and Bella nodded. Then they said their goodbye and Chloe went in the bus, after a while Bella and Gavin's arrived and they got in. They talked a bit about the choir and Bella told him she actually liked it.

"He's definitely giving you a solo" Gavin said and Bella smiled embarrassed. 

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At the office Isabella walked in to find Derek, Reid and her mother on their desks.

"Hey look who's here!" Derek said smiling.

"Hi" Bella said.

"How was choir? It started today right?" Spencer asked excited.

"Yeah. It was cool" Bella said standing before Derek's desk.

"I'm gonna hang out with Penelope okay?" She told Emily.

"Sure. She's in her office" Emily said trying to hide the hurt that Bella didn't even hug her or anything. Isabella walked to Penelope's office.

"So what just happened?" Derek asked. "Where's the 'I missed you mom' and the hugs and the 'I want to stay in your desk' thing?" He looked worried.

"She hates me right now" Emily said.

"She doesn't hate you Em" Derek said.

"Oh yeah she does" Emily said making a face. "There's no more tucking her in or genuine goodbyes and 'take care' before school. She hates me"

"She's probably just a bit upset about something"Spencer said.

"Probably" Emily said and then stared back at the paper work on her desk. 

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Bella walked in Penelope's office.

"Hello my beautiful sugarplum" Penelope said smiling and walking to hug her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay" Bella said. "I ate a hotdog at lunch today" she said shyly.

"You did? That's awesome" Penelope smiled and hugged Bella again. "Did you tell your mom?" She asked once she had let go of the hug and Bella shook her head no.

"You should tell her peanut" Penelope said.

"I don't care" Bella said and headed to sit in the couch. Penelope decided not to talk about it.

"So do you have too much homework today?" She asked.

"Actually no. Just a paper on Chile for Geography." Bella said.

"Uuuuh Chile. That desert is really cool" Penelope said.

"Yeah I was actually thinking of focusing on that" Bella said.

"Cool" Penelope smiled. "Oh! Look the new mini bar I got" she said all excited pointing to the little black mini bar close to the 3 CPUs on the ground. "Go take a look" she said and Bella walked there and kneed down to open it. "Cool" Bella said. She smiled noticing how many things were in there that she really liked. 'I bet she went to get this stuff just for me' Bella thought.

"Get some juice for us" Penelope said. "Come on. my lair your lair, remember? Make yourself at home" she smiled. Bella took out two bottles of orange juice. Penelope opened a can it and took out a little box of lucky charms.

"Do you want this?" Penelope asked hopeful.

"Sure" Bella said and went to sit on the couch. She wasn't hungry and she was still really nervous but she wanted Penelope to think she was trying harder. She ate the cereal out of the box and drank half of the juice while Penelope went back to work. She did her homework, using her iPad to search about Chile. Then she started watching a movie on her iPad. Penelope noticed she had finished homework so she stood up to go talk to her. They started watching funny videos on YouTube and time flew by.

Later Penelope went back to working and Bella finished watching the movie. Around 6:30 Emily walked in to get Bella to go home. Bella said goodbye to the team but with no hugs or anything. She just said goodbye and walked away to the door. Emily followed her after giving the team an apologizing look. 

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The drive home was bad.

"How was your day?" Emily asked.

"Fine" Bella said.

And that was all she said and stared out the window.

Emily decided to go to chipotle's drive thru to get some tacos for dinner then they headed home. Bella put her bag on the floor close to the door and sat on a stool at the island. Emily took the food there and Isabella ate one taco as fast as she could. The taco was way smaller than normal.

"I'm done" she said running to the stairs. Emily had gotten two and she only ate one.

"Bella!" Emily said called but it was too late the kid was already gone. She decided to leave it.

Of course Penelope had told her that Bella ate a hotdog at school and ate the cereal and juice at the office. 

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Isabella took a shower and laid in bed for a while unable to sleep. Her mind was going too many places. She got up and headed to the living room to watch tv. She almost turned around when she saw Emily there but she decided to just sit there and keep her mouth shut and that's what she did. They watched tv and after a while Emily said: "we should go to bed."

Isabella stayed quiet while Emily headed to get a drink of water.

"Can I stay in your bed tonight?" Bella said almost a whisper. She was scared she was going to have nightmares again and even though she was a little pissed at her mother she rather have Emily there with her.

"Sure" Emily said. "Go on I'll be right up" she said and Bella walked up. She went to her bedroom first and got her blanket and tramp just in case and then headed to Emily's bed. She laid down and turned her back to Emily's side on purpose. Emily went up after a while and Bella was asleep. She noticed the position, one that Bella never slept like, she always snuggled towards her mother's pillow so Emily knew the kid was pissed.

Emily showered and then laid in bed and gave Bella's head a kiss.

"Goodnight" she whispered. Then she laid down and slept. 

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 **(Tuesday)**

Emily woke up a little before the clocked turned 6 with her phone ringing non-stop. She sat in bed and picked it up. Isabella woke up with the noise two but stayed down turning to face her mother.

"Oh no" Emily said seeing JJ's name written on it. "Hello?" Emily said answering.

"Hi Em. Sorry to wake you up but we have a case. It's bad Emily" JJ said.

"Okay. I'll be right there" Emily said.

"I'm here with Derek" JJ said.

"What?" Emily asked confused. "Here where?"

"At the door. We came to pick you up. We're heading straight to the airport" JJ said.

"Oh okay. I'll be right down" Emily said.

"Okay" JJ said and hung up.

"What's going on?" Bella asked still sleepy.

"I have a case. Derek and JJ are here" Emily said softly.

"Oh" Bella said and turned around.

"I'll be right back" Emily said getting out of bed.

Isabella didn't say anything. She had tears in her eyes and tried hard not to let them fall. She was scared and angry.

Emily went downstairs and opened the door.

"Sorry it's this early" Derek said.

"It's fine" Emily said. "I just need to change really quick"

"Okay" JJ said.

"Come on in" Emily said and they walked inside.

"Can we stop to drop Bella off?" Emily asked.

"Sure." JJ said.

"I'll be right back" Emily said walking to the stairs. "Make yourself at home " she said and went back to her bedroom to get Bella out of bed.

"Bella. Come on. Go get ready" she said walking into her closet.

"What? It's not even 6:30 yet" Bella mumbled.

"We don't have time for this. Come on. We have to go" Emily said pulling her pants up.

"I'm not going anywhere" Isabella said.

"what?" Emily asked.

"I'm NOT going. There won't be anything important anyways and I need to work on a project" Isabella said.

"Yeah? On that project you lied to me about the other day?" Emily asked and Bella didn't answer.

"Get up" Emily said serious putting her shirt on.

"I'm not going" Isabella said.

"Shit Bella. Just go get dressed." Emily said and nothing. "now!" Emily shouted and Bella got up breathing in heavily and walking out of the room. Emily felt herself wince as the door slammed closed. She let out an almighty sigh. Completely torn over what to do. She picked her boot and headed downstairs.

"That sounded like it went well." Derek said as Emily walked to the kitchen.

"I've never seen her act this." Emily replied.

"You two will be okay. You're doing good." JJ said.

"I don't see how you can say that." Emily replied sounding deflated.

"Emily that's not your fault. She's upset" Derek said and Emily nodded and got a little box of cereal out so Bella could eat on the way to school. 

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Upstairs in her room Bella changed her clothes and sat in front of the vanity to fix her hair. She felt her eyes burn as tears filled them. She was angry at Emily about some things but the thought of her going on another case was freaking her out.

"Em. We should go" JJ said looking at the clock.

"Let me go get her" Emily said running upstairs.

"Bella. Let's go" she said walking in Bella's room. She noticed Bella's eyes but didn't say anything. "We have to go now. Come on" she said.

"I'm not going" Bella said almost a whisper.

"Yes you are." Emily said serious ignoring her daughter's tears. "Stop this you're not 5 years old anymore." She said. "You have 2 minutes to go down" she said very serious and walked back down.

"Has she cooled down at all?" Morgan asked.

"No" Emily said.

"What about if Garcia talked to her?" Derek suggested.

"Shepherd, Jeremy and I will sit down with her on the weekend..." She stopped when she saw Morgan grimace. "What?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Morgan asked.

"No." Emily admitted and suddenly Bella appeared at the stairs.

"Hi princess" Derek said.

"Hi" Bella said and he gave her a hug but she didn't hug him back.

"So let's go?" JJ said smiling at the girl.

"Yeah" Derek said grabbing Bella's hand. Emily walked to the island and grabbed the cereal box.

"Breakfast" she said handing it to Bella. Isabella looked pissed but opened and stared eating it without any milk.

They headed to the car and drove to school, Emily went on the back with her daughter.

.

At the school, Emily hugged Bella, who didn't hug back and she could feel Isabella tensing.

"I'll call you okay?" Emily said.

"Whatever" Bella said almost a whisper, letting go of the hug.

"Have a nice day kid" Derek said.

"You all be careful" she said serious and walked away.

It was 6:35. The school had just opened for the teachers so she went up the stairs. When she looked back the SUV was gone. She felt her heart ache and felt bad for not hugging her mom back.

"Hey. What are you doing here so early?" Misses Edmund said putting her hand on Bella's shoulder.

"My mom had a case. She just dropped me off on the way to the airport " Bella said.

"I'm heading to the library. Do you want to come? You can help me out with some things" The teacher asked.

"Sure" Bella said managing a little smile and they walked to the library. Isabella helped the teacher with some books she was looking for and then she sat reading a book about Astrology while Misses Edmund talked to some other teachers. Suddenly the bell rang, it was time for class. Bella said goodbye and walked to her classroom. She sat on the front as always and suddenly Chloe and Gavin walked in.

"Where were you?" Gavin asked.

"Library" Bella said.

"What? When did you get here? We waited for you for like forever" Chloe said.

"6 something. My mom has a case" Bella said a bit upset.

"Why didn't you go to my house?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know. She just dropped me off" Bella said.

Her friends sat down and the class started.

Bella stayed quiet the entire day. She didn't talk during classes and only talked a bit at lunch about choir. Chloe and Gavin both could see she was upset. The last class was French so Chloe and Bella headed to their class while Gavin headed to his. When they got to the classroom the only seats free were on the back so they sat there. The teacher started the class and Isabella's mind was anywhere but there. The teacher noticed the girl on the back looking rather sad.

"Are you alright?" The French teacher Miss Marion, a young french woman In her early 30s, kneed down to Bella's eyes level to ask.

"Yeah" Bella said with her eyes full. She didn't look at the teacher; she just stared at her book.

"voulez-vous aller pour une promenade ? prendre l'air ?" (Do you want to go for a walk? Get some air?) Marion asked in French. She knew Bella was fluent and she also knew the other kids would not really understand her.

Isabella nodded yes.

"vous avez cinq minutes. d'accord?" (You have five minutes. Okay?) Miss Marion said.

"Oui" Bella said and headed out. She walked to the bathroom and called Cameron. It went straight to voice mail.

"Crap" Bella said angry. She couldn't hold the tears. She just sobbed.

After a while she managed to calm down and washed her face and headed back to class. She walked in and sat on her desk.

"Te sens-tu mieux maintenant?" (Do you feel better now) the teacher asked stopping in front of Bella's desk and Bella nodded yes.

"Bien" Miss Marion said and headed back to her own desk.

The students finished an exercise on their book and the bell rang.

"What happened?" Chloe asked to Bella.

"It's okay now" Bella said serious standing up. "Let's go" she said walking to the door. Chloe grabbed her bag and followed Bella. She didn't want to push her friend and she could see Bella didn't want to talk about it. So they walked to get Millie and then went to the bus stop to find Gavin there. They talked a bit about his class and their bus got there.

Bella and Gavin went in and Chloe waved goodbye.

"Are you okay?" Gavin asked as they sat together inside the bus.

"Yeah I'm fine" Bella said.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes" Bella said not sounding sure at all.

"Yeah. I can see that" Gavin joked.

They remained quiet till Gavin had to go. They said goodbye and he got out.

It wasn't long till Bella got to the BAU. She found Penelope waiting for her on Emily's desk.

"Hey" Penelope said standing to hug Bella.

"Hi" Bella said with a little smile. Penelope hugged her.

"Are you alright?" Penelope asked letting go of the hug.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Bella asked.

"Well your mom went on a case so..." Penelope said.

"Yeah. And she's coming back" Bella said pretending she was fine.

"Yeah. Of course she is" Penelope said serious.

"Well I have tons and tons of homework today so do you mind if I stay here?" Bella said walking closer to her mother's desk.

"Oh sure. Make yourself at home. I'm gonna be busy in there today" Penelope said. "Oh but you can go there whenever you want, okay?"

"My lair your lair" both said in unison and let out a laugh.

"Really anything aunt penny is there" Penelope smiled.

"Okay" Bella said sitting down and Penelope left. Isabella started at Emily's desk for a while just taking in everything her mom had. Her eyes stopped at the picture next to the computer and she let out a smile and her eyes filled up. She blinked rapidly and got her homework and started working on it.

It was late when she finished so she headed to the lair to see Penelope.

"Hi" Bella said opening the door, she had her iPad in her hands. "Can I get a juice?" She asked.

"Sure pumpkin. I got nachos for dinner. The salsa is in the mini bar" Penelope smiled and Bella headed to the mini bar and grabbed a box of apple juice and a box of salsa.

"Is it okay if I stay here for a while?" Bella asked sitting on the couch.

"Of course mini" Penelope said smiling at Bella, then looking back at the computer. Isabella drank the juice and ate some nachos with salsa. She ate just a little bit since that horrible feeling didn't leave her all day.

When she was done she threw the juice box out and put the rest of the food in the mini bar.

"You're done already?" Penelope asked.

"I'm not really hungry. For real Penny" Bella said.

"Alright sugarplum. But later you'll eat a snack, right?" Penelope made a begging face.

"Sure" Bella said and laid on the couch. She put her headphones on and started watching a movie on Netflix. After 20 minutes she fell asleep. It was 8 and she was tired and emotional. Penelope smiled at the sight of the sleeping child, she grabbed the 'doctor who' blanket she had bought for Bella and covered the girl up.

Emily called later to see how Bella was doing because she wasn't picking up. Penelope told she was sleeping so Emily made sure Penelope understood Bella had to eat and then she said to call her if something happened.

Bella woke up at midnight and ate an apple then she got a go bag Emily had taken to the office with some of her clothes and she put on pajamas and sat on the couch.

"Did my mom call?" She asked Penelope.

"Yeah. She's okay" Penelope said.

"When are they coming back?" Bella asked.

"I don't know. We haven't really got anywhere yet" Penelope said.

Isabella's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Bella" she said and walked the couch. She sat next to Bella and gave her a hug. "She'll be back soon" she said and Bella just cried. Penelope could see the kid was really upset.

"I didn't even say goodbye right" Bella said.

"Oh honey that doesn't matter" Penelope said. "Your mom's coming back. Don't worry" she said.

Isabella let go of her and started to lay down. Penelope covered her up and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight" Penelope said.

"Goodnight" Bella said turning to face the couch. Penelope went back to her chair, and Bella laid there and even though she didn't have her blanket and she was scared she was also really tired and soon fell asleep.

The team worked on the case all night so Penelope had to stay at the office and Isabella just slept on the couch. 

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(Wednesday)

Penelope woke up at 6 with a call from JJ.

JJ told her the team was up and running to catch the killer before he killed someone else. So Penelope sat back on her chair and started working.

At 6:30 she woke Bella up.

"Bella. Hey. Time to wake you pumpkin" she said softly soothing Bella's hair. Isabella slowly opened her eyes. "Hi" Penelope said.

"Hi" Bella said sleepy.

"You gotta get ready for school" Penelope said. "Hotch's office has a shower you can use" she said.

"Okay" Bella said sitting up. "Are they coming back?" She asked.

"Not yet peanut" Penelope smiled. "Hurry up come on"

Isabella got up and grabbed her go bag and headed to the shower. She didn't know Emily had put the bag together for her in case she needed to stay with Penelope. Emily had put clean school clothes, panties, hair clips, socks, pajamas and a towel. Bella went to Hotch's office and entered the bathroom. She took a quick shower and put on clean school uniform. She let her hair down and headed to Penelope's office. Penelope was already waiting with cereal for her. Bella poured some milk in the cereal and ate it fast.

"My friend Kevin will drive you" Penelope said.

"Kevin?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. He's a tech here too. He's cool" Penelope said.

"Okay" Bella said and suddenly Kevin was there.

"so Kevin this is Bella and Bella this is Kevin" Penelope said.

"Oh so your name is Kevin" Bella said. She had seen him around but had no idea what his name was.

"Yeah" Kevin said.

"So you're a hacker too?" Bella asked.

"Not as good as this one" Kevin said looking at Penelope. Bella smiled, she could see Kevin liked Penelope.

"Alright. So go! or you'll be late" Penelope said. "Bye peanut." She said giving Bella a hug.

"Bye" Bella said and they left.

.

The car ride was fine. Bella was nervous and tense and she didn't really feel like talking much so she just sat there and Kevin was a bit awkward and didn't really try talking to her.

During school she kept quiet, barely talking, she listened to her friends and the teacher but she didn't talk much. During the American history class, before lunch, Emily texted her.

'Hi Bells. We are super busy here. We don't think we'll head home today but anything I'll let you know. I love you. Be good. Love, mom' 

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Back in the school, the bell rang and it was time for lunch. The three friends headed to the cafeteria and Bella bought a hotdog just like her friends. They sat to eat.

"Are you okay?" Gavin said. "You look really down Bella"

"I'm not feeling very good" Bella said.

"What are you feeling?" Chloe said.

"Sick. I don't know. I think I'm coming down with something" Bella said. She wasn't completely lying.

"At least you're eating a bit more" Gavin said.

"Yeah" Bella said taking another bite of the hotdog. This time she ate the whole thing. She just sat there and listening to her friends talk, she didn't talk much. Chloe and Gavin knew she was not okay.

The bell rang and they headed to the lab. The class went okay and at the end Misses Edmund asked If she could talk to Bella.

"I'll tell Mister Davis" Chloe said and she walked out. Bella walked to the teacher's desk.

"Hi sweetheart. I just wanted to check on you" Misses Edmund said and Bella smiled. "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah." Bella smiled. "Thanks for asking"

"Oh no problem. I just wanted to make sure you're okay" Misses Edmund said. "Now go before you get in trouble" she smiled.

"Okay" Bella said smiling back and then she headed out.

When she walked into the classroom Mister Davis walked in behind her.

"Late again Miss Prentiss?" he asked smiling.

"Misses Edmund wanted to talk to me" Bella said walking to her desk.

"Science is very important but so is English. You know that , right?" He said and the entire class was quietly listening.

"Yes sir" Bella said sitting on her desk.

"Good" he said. "So let's start" he said turning to face the entire class.

The rest of the class went great.

When school was done Bella headed to the office. She told Penelope she was going to do her homework on Emily's desk then she got a bag of chips and apple juice and headed out. Penelope was really busy working so Bella just stayed on Emily's desk. She finished her homework around 7 and then she started reading a book on her iPad. Suddenly Cameron called.

"Cam I need to go home" Bella said holding her tears and walking to Hotch's office.

"Your mom will be back soon. You'll see" Cameron said.

"No. I mean Seattle. I want to go back. I don't like it here" Bella cried as she walked into the bathroom closing the door behind her.

"Bella" Cameron said.

"I just want my dad and my life back. I hate this. I hate being scared all the time and don't try to tell me that my mom is fine and she'll be fine. You don't know that and my dad was fine too and then he wasn't." Bella said really fast.

"Everything is going to be fine. It will get better I promise" Cameron said and Bella just sat on the ground in silence listening.

"I'm not ready for any of this" Bella cried.

"I know you're not but no one ever is" Cameron said "you just have to hang in there."

"I just want to go home" Bella said. "I don't... I just..." Bella said unable to finish. There was a little bit of silence before Bella said: "I have to go Penelope is coming" she lied.

"Okay" Cameron said. "I love you and take care"

"You too" Bella said. "Bye"

"Bye" Cameron said and Bella hung up. She just placed her phone on the floor and was unable to contain a sob that scape. She let herself cry and after sometime she headed back to Emily's desk and went back to reading her book.

Around 9 she decided to take a shower. She headed to Penelope's office to grab her go bag.

"I'm gonna shower okay?" Bella said.

"Okay." Penelope said typing something really fast in the computer not even taking the time to look at the girl. Bella grabbed her things and left. She showered fast and went back to the office. When she walked in there was pizza waiting for her. She managed to eat a slice trying hard to control her breathing so she wouldn't have another panic attack. Once she was done she started watching a movie on her iPad.

.

It was almost 11 when Emily called.

"Hello" Bella said sounding serious.

"Hi honey. Its mom" Emily said.

"I know" Isabella said serious. She wasn't sure of what she was feeling. She didn't know if she was angry or mad or just sad, she wasn't sure.

"Well I just called to see if you're doing okay" Emily said.

"Yeah. We just had dinner and I'm watching a movie" Bella said.

"Good" Emily said.

"Mom. I wanna go home" Bella said with her eyes full of tears.

"I'll be back soon okay?" Emily said.

"Whatever" Bella said sounding upset. A few tears escaped.

"I promise" Emily said.

"You can't promise that" Bella said and Emily's eyes filled with tears.

"Yes I can" she said sounding confident but her tears were falling. "I'll see you soon. Goodnight"

"Goodnight" Bella said and hung up. She put the phone beside her and started sobbing.

"Oh honey" Penelope said walking to sit beside Bella.

"Come here. Lay down" she said and Bella laid her head on Penelope's lap. She cried herself to sleep shortly.

Penelope felt horrible for the kid, she just wanted to help her.

Her phone started ringing and it was the team so she had to answer. She placed Bella's head on the pillow in the couch and headed to her desk. She did some work till almost 3 am when Emily called to let her know the team was heading to a hotel and would resume the work in the morning. She also asked Penelope to take Bella home so she could sleep in her own bed. Of course Penelope said yes and took Bella home. As soon as they got there Isabella walked to Emily's bed and laid there snuggling her blanket and her stuffed dog Tramp.

Penelope got a drink of water before heading up. She smiled at the sight of Bella all cozy with her things and she laid next to Bella. She was tired so she didn't even change. She just laid there and Bella started crying again. The kid couldn't help. She was broken. Penelope hugged her tight and the crying was subsiding till Bella fell asleep and Penelope fell asleep shortly after Bella. They were both really tired.


	39. Chapter 39: Running Away To Seattle

**(Thursday)**

Penelope and Isabella, both woke up at 6:30 with the alarm clock. The morning went okay. Bella took a shower and got dressed and ate her cereal before they headed out. She wasn't feeling very good but she kept quiet and didn't tell Penelope anything.

At school she headed to class and just sat quietly on her desk, when the first break bell rang she told her friends that she wasn't feeling so good so she wanted to stay inside the classroom so Gavin and Chloe decided to stay there with her.

"What exactly are you feeling Bella?" Chloe asked.

"Just sick I guess" Bella said laying her head on the table. Her head was hurting a bit.

"You really don't look to good" Gavin said and Bella just stayed there quiet.

"If you feel anything else tell us okay?" Chloe said and Bella nodded.

.

The class after that was science and it was okay. Isabella's eyes watered a couple of times when thoughts about her dad and her mom filled her mind. She wasn't feeling good at all and she didn't want to have to explain everything to any one, so at lunch she told her friends she was going to call her mom so she stayed inside the classroom while Chloe and Gavin headed to the cafeteria.

"Hello?" Emily said answering the phone.

"Hi mom" Bella said.

"Hi Bellie. Is everything okay?" Emily asked a bit concern Isabella was calling her from school.

"Yeah. It's fine" Bella said. "Well I just called cause I was wondering if it would be okay for me to go home after school today." She said. "Chloe could come over and we have a bunch of homework to work so..."

"Chloe would stay there with you?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. She said she could" Bella lied.

"Alright" Emily said. "Just be careful okay?"

"I know" Bella said. "And you too"

"Okay. Look if I have to stay here again Pen will go over there at night okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said trying to sound fine but tears filled her eyes.

"Alright. I love you. Take care"

"You too" Bella said. "Bye"

"Bye" Emily said and hung up. Emily dialed Penelope's phone number and waited for her friend to pick up. She told her that Bella was going home with Chloe and asked if she could go stay with her around 7 so she could make sure the kid had dinner and everything. Of course Penelope said yes and then she mentioned that Bella cried quite a bit the night before. Emily felt sad about that and also confused of what exactly was going on with the kid. They talked some more and then hung up and both went back to work. 

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At school Isabella's friends went back to the classroom with a bag of chips for her.

"Hey. We got you this" Gavin said handing the bag to Bella.

"Thanks" she said opening it and picking some chips to eat.

"So are you feeling a bit better now?" Chloe asked.

"Kind of I guess" Bella said. "Oh Chlo I'm heading home today after school."

"Isn't your mom traveling?" Gavin asked.

"She'll be back home before I get there" Isabella lied. She just wanted to be alone in the house so she could have some time for herself and not worry about letting her guard up or having to say what she was feeling.

"Good" Chloe said. "I hate riding the bus alone with Millie" She said and Bella gave her a little smile.

Suddenly the bell rang and it was time for math. Bella just stayed the same as earlier that morning, quiet and distant.

The last class of the day was art and they watched a documentary about Picasso. When the school was over Gavin said goodbye and headed to his bus while Bella and Chloe went to pick Millie up. Before they could make it to Millie's classroom 2 of those mean girls, Vanessa and Gail, stopped them.

"Hi. What are you two doing here?" Vanessa asked.

"None of your business" Isabella said. She was sick of them.

"Oh I see" Vanessa said with a sick little smiled. "You know what. I've heard about your mama. Poor thing. At least she didn't die yet right?" She said and Isabella eyes widened. Chloe could feel her friend tensing up.

"Yet?" Gail said.

"Yeah. You know how FBI people are Gail. They don't care. They just burst into places ready to get shot or killed or whatever. Come on we know it won't be long before this one becomes an orphan" Vanessa said and Isabella's eyes filled with tears.

"Stop it" Chloe said pissed and Bella just stood there.

"Oh come on Chloe you know that's true. You know her mom will leave her just like her dad did" Vanessa said.

Isabella just walked away as tears started falling rapidly down her face. Chloe followed her as the girls laughed and walked away. Bella went to Millie's classroom.

"Hi we came to pick Millie" Isabella told the teacher at the door while wiping her face.

"Are you okay hun?" Millie's teacher asked.

"Yeah yeah. I'm fine" Bella said and gave the lady a fake smiled.

Suddenly Chloe appeared behind her.

"Millie!" The teacher called and Millie ran to Bella and jumped on her.

"Why are you crying ?" The little girl asked.

"Oh it's nothing. Let's go home" Bella said placing the girl on the floor and taking her hand. They headed to the buss. Millie sat on Bella's lap and Isabella tried distracting herself with the child. Chloe didn't know what to say. When they entered the elevator on their building Chloe asked: "Bella do you want me to stay with you for a while?"

"No." Bella said serious. "My mom is home" she lied.

"I know but maybe a friend can help" Chloe said shyly. "They were straight up mean. You know that's not true"

"I know" Bella said. "Don't worry my mom's home" she said and the elevator door opened at Chloe's floor.

"Anything just call then" Chloe said.

"Okay" Bella said. "Bye"

"Bye" Chloe and Millie said in unison, and the door closed. Isabella's face completely changed from serious to straight up sad and broken the minute she was alone in the elevator. She walked inside her apartment and she could feel her eyes burning. She arrived home to an empty house. She locked the door and reseted the alarm, then she headed to the couch. She was so sick of crying all the time. She sat to watch tv and started pulling homework out of her bag. A couple of minutes had passed since she started working on it and she just felt tears slipping out. She wiped her face but more tears fell. She got up and ran to her room. She took her school clothes off and put on shorts and a black shirt. She got a purse out of her closet, she opened it and there were 10 dollars in it, she put it back in and headed to Emily's room. She picked her blanket out of the bed and put it on the purse. She got her phone and logged in on the Delta app. She couldn't bare staying there anymore, she wanted to go home. She purchased a ticket to Seattle, just like she had seen her father doing a couple times, and the plane left in an hour and 20 minutes. She sent the document to print on the printer in Emily's office and ran down. She got the ticket, put it on her purse and headed to the living room. She searched on the maps app the way to the airport and there was a lot of traffic and she likely wouldn't make it in time so she had to walk there, she looked over the map a couple of times to make sure she knew where she had to go, it didn't look so hard. She placed her phone on the couch and headed out the door. She could feel her face burning up. She was nervous but confident she had to go to Seattle. 10 minutes after walking, it started to rain. She stopped at a little shop and bought an umbrella. She walked for about 30 minutes trying to remember the way she saw on the Internet. It was 5:24 when she realized she was lost. She looked around and couldn't see anything familiar. She felt tears fill her eyes and she tried hard not to panic. She started to feel like she wanted her mom. But she also wanted to go home in Seattle. She kept looking around and suddenly she saw a flag waving up high and she recognized it. It was the flag at the top of the library.

She ran to the library. She walked inside and went straight to the bathroom. She was so scared. She didn't know how to go back or how she was going to explain to her mom why she ran away.

After a while she walked outside and a lady told her the library was closing. It was 6:03. The library closed at 6 on Thursdays. She walked out of the place and the rain had stopped, she didn't know where she should go anymore. She sat outside for a while. It was really cold and she didn't have a jacket and she was wearing jeans shorts. She sat there hugging her legs, she could feel herself shake. She started to wonder if someone was looking for her. 

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Emily had texted Bella around 5 telling her that they were heading back. Isabella left the phone at home so Emily thought it was strange the kid didn't answer her text but she thought maybe Bella was watching a movie with Chloe and didn't see or they fell asleep. 

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After a while sitting in the front of the library Isabella spotted a cafe. She had a bit of money left and she thought a hot chocolate could maybe help with the cold. She walked there and suddenly the rain started pouring again.

"Oh we're closing honey" a lady told her. It was 6:30 now.

"Can I just have a hot chocolate?" Bella asked with tears rolling down her face. "Please"

"Sure" the lady said heading to the machine. Isabella sat on a table and waited for the lady. She paid and drank the hot chocolate really fast.

"I have to close the store now" the lady said. "Are you waiting for someone to pick you up?" She asked.

"Yeah. My mom was meant to pick me up at the library an hour ago" Isabella lied not really knowing what to tell the lady. She was scared.

"Oh. Do you want to ring her?"

"I don't know her number. It was on my phone but I forgot it at home" Isabella said realizing what a stupid thing she had done. She felt like she wanted to go to Seattle still. She was scared but she didn't feel like DC was her home.

"Okay. So you better wait for her there" the lady said.

"I will. Thank you" Bella said and walked out of the store. The sky was dark already. Isabella started to walk down the street. She remembered that street from when she went to the library with her mother. When she got to the end of the street though, she was lost again. She had no idea at all of where she had to go to get to the airport, or Emily's building or anywhere. She sat on a bench and started crying. It was dark, and raining and very cold and she was all alone.

At that moment she realized. She felt in her heart that she wanted her mother. That was all the wanted. Just Emily. She realized her home was with her mother. It didn't matter where they lived, her home was with Emily. She couldn't help but cry. 

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It was 7:12 when the team walked into the BAU. Emily headed to her desk and texted Bella.

'Hi Bells. I just got to the office. We're staying here for some paper work but I'll be home soon. Love, mom'

She started the paper work and thought it was weird that Bella didn't reply again. So she texted again.

'Are you mad at me or something?' She typed making a face.

"Hey. What's with the face?" Derek asked.

"Bella's ignoring my texts" Emily said.

"Penelope said she was pretty upset yesterday so it's probably just that" JJ said and they all smiled understanding and went back to work. 

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Isabella sat on that bench in the rain for about half an hour when suddenly she heard a gunshot.

She felt her heart racing as she went down on the floor scared she was going to get shot. She didn't know where the noise came from. She waited on the floor for a while and then she got up. She started walking really close to the walls. Suddenly she heard a woman scream for help.

"Oh my god" she whispered. Suddenly a guy put his arm on her shoulder. Her eyes widened with fear but she didn't make a sound.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. You should get out of here" he whispered to her.

"There's someone hurt" she said. "I think it's coming from there" she said pointing.

"I'm gonna go check. You walk in that direction and don't make sound. And if I tell you to run you run as fast as you can okay? And don't stop" He whispered serious. He was tall and a little buff, with dark brown hair and she thought he was in his early 20's.

"Okay" she said with tears streaming down her face.

He walked across the street and slowly walked to the alley. He could see a street light in the middle of it. And right below it there was a man and a young girl. He couldn't see it right. The girl screamed again. He felt sick at the sight of the man on the girl. He looked over at Bella and felt scared to leave the child alone there. He signed for her to walk away and be quiet. Isabella got up and started walking in the opposite direction.

Suddenly she heard a gunshot again and she heard the guy scream "run".

And she just ran.

She ran as fast as she could. It was pouring down rain. She looked back and saw the guy running to another street and the man that was with the girl followed him. Her heart seemed to have stopped.

"He's gonna kill him" Bella whispered to herself as she kept running desperately not knowing where exactly she was going. She stumbled and fell. She hit the floor hard on the left side of her body. She got up really fast and started running even faster scared the guy would catch up to her. She ran for a long time when she suddenly spotted a park. She didn't know what time it was or anything. She kept running to the park and when she saw where she was she felt like she could breathe.

It was her park.

The one she loved going to just chill and look at the people and the ducks. When she walked in the park she stopped running and went to look for her bench, the one that faced the lake. She sat there in the rain and just stared at the lake. She could see the ducks hiding under a tree. She looked over at the other side and there were no people there. She looked behind her and it was empty too. She figured it must be really late. She laid on the bench and hugged her legs.

She didn't know the way back home.

It was raining like crazy.

She didn't have any money or her phone.

She was so cold and so scared.

She just wanted her mom.

She wanted to go home, to her real home. Right there in DC.

...


	40. Chapter 40: Lost

…

It was 8:30 when Emily texted Bella again.

'We are almost done here. I'll be home soon'

She was concern when Bella didn't answer again. She felt deep inside that there was something wrong. She tried calling and no one picked up. She tried again and nothing. She tried one more time and nothing.

"Shit" she said standing up.

"Is everything okay" Derek asked.

"She's not answering me" Emily said starting to walk. Derek stood up and walked after her.

"Hey" he said grabbing her arm.

"There's something wrong Derek." She said with a very concerned and scared face. Just the thought of something bad happening to her baby made her head pound.

"Trace her phone" Derek said.

"That's what I'm going to do" she said and they walked to Penelope's office.

"Garcia can you trace Bella's phone for me?" Emily asked walking in.

"What? Bella's phone?" Penelope asked confused. "What happened?" She asked terrified when she saw their faces.

"I think there's something wrong. Just check it for me" Emily said.

"Okay" Garcia said turning back to face the computer. She typed some stuff and the location appeared on the screen.

"She's at home" Penelope said relieved.

"I'm gonna call again" Emily said. She called twice.

"Nothing" she said. "She's not home" she said.

"Calm down you don't know that. She can be asleep okay? You don't know" Derek said.

"I know" Emily said and took a deep breath.

"Let's go check" Derek said.

"I'm going too" Penelope said and they left.

The entire ride Emily felt like she was about to explode. What if someone took her baby. She called Hilary from the car and asked if Bella was there. Hilary said no and asked why. Emily said that Bella wasn't answering her and she thought that since Chloe went there that maybe Bella had gone to Hilary's apartment. Then Hilary said that Chloe didn't went there, she said Chloe stayed home.

Emily's heart sank.

"Fuck" she said after hanging up.

"What happened?" Penelope asked.

"Chloe was never there. Bella lied to me" she said.

"What? She wouldn't do that" Penelope said.

"She did" Emily said.

.

They ran to the apartment. Walking in Emily saw the alarm was on. So that was good. She also saw the door to the office open. She got her gun out and walked in.

"The printer is on" she said.

"Her stuff is in here" Derek said from the living room. Emily went over there. She knew something happened. "She left her phone here" she said.

"Guys she's probably upstairs" Garcia said with tears in her eyes, scared something actually happened to the girl.

Derek went up the stairs and he was followed by Emily. They checked Emily's bedroom first, nothing. Then went to Bella's, nothing. They checked the rest of the house and nothing.

"She's not here" Emily said feeling her heart pounding.

"We'll find her" Derek said and Emily ran back to her bedroom. She took the pillows off and she didn't find a blanket.

Suddenly Penelope ran in.

"Guys" Penelope said with tears streaming down her face and Isabella's phone in her hand.

Emily walked and took the phone.

"What?" She said as she saw the delta app.

"Seattle?" Derek said.

"She told me the other day she wanted to go home" Emily said. "I thought she meant here"

"How did she go to the airport?" Penelope asked confused and scared.

"Call to see if she took the flight" Derek said.

Emily called and her heart broke when the answer was no.

It was late at night and it was pouring down rain. She couldn't help but think the worse. Emily told Penelope to stay there in case Bella went back home. Derek said he would get her laptop for her in the office and they left.

Derek called the team to tell them what was going on as they walked to the car and Emily called Gavin to see if she was there but he said no. So They headed to the BAU.

There they talked about what happened and Hotch filled a missing child's report and everyone started looking for her. He divided the team. Hotch, Emily and JJ would go look together and Derek, Spencer and David would go together. They headed to places they knew Bella used to go like the school, the library, and they also checked the airport. It was 10:30 when a lady called and said she saw the girl from the tv. JJ had made sure every network was displaying Bella's face in it in case someone saw her. The lady said the girl had walked in her cafe and drank hot chocolate. JJ told her to go to the station and Hotch headed there so they could talk to her.

Emily didn't like the idea of staying in the BAU. She wanted to be out there looking for her child but Hotch noticed she was very tensed so he thought it would be better.

They talked to the lady and she told them that she was closing the cafe but Bella was wet because of the rain and she seemed cold so she waited till the kid finished drinking the hot chocolate and then she closed the store.

"Did she say anything about why she was there?" Emily asked a bit angry. She couldn't understand why the woman just let the girl go and didn't call anyone.

"She said her mom was going to pick her up at the library but she was late" the lady said. "I offered the phone for her to call her mother but she said she didn't knew the number"

"Did you see which direction she went?" Hotch asked.

"She walked down the street" the lady said.

"Thank you" Hotch said and they headed out. The lady didn't help much on finding Bella but at least they had some news.

Emily couldn't believe that was happening. They walked back to the car and went back to searching. 

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It had been almost 4 hours since Bella got to the park. She had walked around a little to try to find a covered place so she could stay in till morning but she failed. She tried looking for a taxi but the streets were empty so she walked back to the bench and sat there staring at the lake. She had lost her umbrella and she was shivering with cold. She started to feel her body heavy and her noise was weird. She was starting to feel really sick, like as if she had a flu. She stared at the bracelet on her left arm, the one with moons, hearts and stars, that Emily had given her. She started crying again. She hugged her legs and laid her face on her arms. 

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 **(Friday)**

Another 2 hours had gone by when Derek pulled the car at the park. They had looked everywhere they could think of and then started stopping at random places to check.

Derek walked into the park followed by Spencer and David. They walked pass a weird Greek statue and suddenly it hit David.

"Is there a lake in this park?" He asked.

"Yes" Reid said.

"I know where she is" he said and started running. Derek and Reid followed him.

"I've heard Emily and JJ talking about this. They had a picnic here." He said.

"That doesn't mean anything" Derek said.

"Emily also said Bella likes this bench that faces a lake." He said a little out of breath from running.

"What?" Reid said.

"She said it calms her" Rossi said. "Believe me she's here" he said suddenly stopping when he saw the bench. He smiled as he saw a small girl sitting on it.

Derek took a step towards it and David grabbed his arm. "Let me do it" he said. "You stay here in case she runs" he said and walked to her.

.

Isabella was so tired and feeling so sick. She had been crying for hours. The sobs had stopped a long time ago and she had only tears falling now. She was looking at the ducks under the tree and praying her mom could find her there somehow. She felt someone coming on the left side of the bench. She felt her heart beating so fast as she looked at the man. She let a deep breath out when she saw it was David Rossi. She didn't move though. She just sat there. David look back at Derek and Spencer and signed for them to wait. He sat beside her as she looked back at the lake.

"Hi" he said and she just stayed quiet. "So why are you here?" He asked and suddenly the young girl bursted into tears turning to him and he hugged her.

Derek ran to the bench and Spencer followed him.

"Bella?" He said standing in front of them. Isabella looked at him and jumped up and hugged him. He picked her up.

"It's okay princess. You're safe" he told her. He had a look of relief and hurt on his face. "It's okay" he kept telling her.

"He told me to run" Bella let out but they didn't quite hear it.

"What?" Spencer said and she just cried more.

"Let's get her out of this rain" David said and they walked to the car. Derek placed her inside and she was still crying. He sat beside her and she jumped on his lap.

"Are you hurt?" He asked concern with how bad she was crying.

"No" she said between sobs.

"Hey. Calm down you're okay now" he said.

"I want my mom" she cried.

"You'll see her soon" Derek said.

"We need to take her to the hospital." David said.

"No. No. I want my mom" she cried and held a bit of his shirt tightly on her hand.

"She'll meet us there" David said.

"No" Bella cried. She knew once they got to the hospital the doctors wouldn't wait for her mom to treat her.

"Let's go to my house then. It's not so far. Emily can meet us there" Rossi said starting the car.

"I'm going to call Hotch to let them know we've got her" Spencer said and David drove to his house. 

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On the other side of the city Hotch, JJ and Emily were looking for Bella at the train station. Suddenly Hotch's phone rang.

"Hotch?" Spencer said.

"Yeah?"

"We've got her" he said.

"You do?" Hotch asked looking relieved.

"What is it?" Emily asked worried.

"They found her" he said smiling and she let her tears fall. JJ hugged her and Hotch finished the call.

"Reid said they're going to David's house. She refused to go to the hospital" he said.

"Is she hurt?" Emily asked worried.

"He didn't say" Hotch said and Emily started walking to the car. Hotch and JJ followed her. 

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A block before David's house Bella suddenly said: "Stop the car!"

"What is it ?" Derek asked.

"I'm gonna throw up" she cried taking her hands to cover her mouth.

David stopped the car on the side of the rode and she walked out and Derek followed her. She started throwing up and he held her hair up and placed his hand around her stomach helping her to stay standing. Once she was done she turned around and Spencer was standing there holding out a tissue. She got it, and it was a bit went cause it was still raining a little, and she wiped her mouth. She suddenly felt a bit dizzy and fell a bit to the side so Derek picked her up noticing the kids was not okay at all. They headed back to the car and headed to Rossi's house.

In there Derek carried her to a guest bedroom on the second floor and she was still crying. He placed her on the bed and Rossi brought towels. Derek took the purse off and wrapped her in two so she could try to dry herself a bit. Then she took them off and she laid in bed. He covered her up and laid next to her.

"Derek?" Bella cried.

"Yes princess?" He said.

"I was going to the airport but I got lost and then I saw the flag from the library. I went there but when it closed I got lost" she said really fast.

"And how did you get to the park?" He asked.

"I don't know." She cried as she remembered what happened.

"You're okay now princess. You're safe" Derek said and kept hugging her while she tightened her grip on his shirt.

After a while tears were still falling down her face but she wasn't making a sound.

"Your mom will be here soon" he said. "Reid" He called and Spencer looked at him. "Stay here with her. We need to talk to Emily when she gets here" he said.

"Okay" Reid said and sat on the other side of the bed.

"Princess? Is it okay if I go down?" Derek asked the girl who was still gripping his shirt. "Spencer will stay right here" he said.

"Okay" Bella whispered and went closer to Spencer, laying her head close beside him. He soothed her hair and Derek left. 

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Downstairs David was sitting in the kitchen with a glass of wine in his hand.

"How is she?" He asked.

"Pretty shaken up" Derek said.

"Did you hear what she said?" David said.

"What?" Derek asked confused.

"She said he told her to run" David said. "Who is he?"

"You don't think somebody..?" Derek said unable to finish.

"No. I don't think so." David Rossi said knowing that if a man did something to Bella she probably wouldn't have let any of them get near her and she had actually jumped to them.

"I think she might have pneumonia though." Rossi said. "Did you hear her breathing?" He said standing up and heading to the fridge.

"Yeah. She doesn't look very good either" Derek said. Rossi took some water out of the refrigerator and poured some on a glass.

"I'm gonna take this up to her" He said and started walking to the stairs and Derek followed him.

Upstairs in the guest bedroom they walked in to find Bella fast asleep hugging Spencer.

"How long has she been asleep?" Rossi asked.

"4 minutes" Reid said. "She has a fever" he said.

Derek sat on the bed and took some hair of Bella's face. As he did that he felt her skin. He placed his hand on her forehead.

"She's burning up" He said worried.

"Emily will be here soon" Spencer said.

"She'll have to take her to the hospital" Rossi said.

"Yeah" Derek said staring at Bella's red cheeks.

"Morgan. Let's wait downstairs. We're going to have to talk to her before she comes up" David said. Derek nodded yes and soothed Isabella's hair then they headed out. They sat in the kitchen and kept talking while waiting for Hotch, JJ and Emily to get there. 

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Hotch pulled to David's house and Emily ran to the door and JJ followed her, and Hotch went right beside them. David opened the door and Emily bursted inside.

"Where is she?" Emily asked so worried but trying to keep her emotions controlled.

"Em you might want to sit down for a while" Derek said putting his hand on her shoulder but she pulled away. She could see the look on his face.

"What happened?" she asked her eyes filling with tears.

"Come sit" Rossi said.

"I'm not seating. Where's my daughter?" she asked almost screaming.

"She's asleep upstairs" Rossi said. Emily tried to run for the stairs but Derek held her arm. "Em wait" he said.

"Did someone...?" She couldn't even finish the sentence. The thought of somebody doing anything to her little girl was killing her.

"We don't think so" Rossi said.

"You don't think?" She asked letting a little laugh at the end. How could they not know.

"Em she's so pale and dehydrated, she threw up before we got here and her breathing is really heavy. She was soaked because of the rain. She said she was heading to the airport but she got lost and then she saw the library but when it closed she got lost again. We think she was out in the rain since that." Derek said and JJ held Emily's hand.

"Oh my God. It closes at 6. It's almost three in the morning." J.J said.

"That's what we're trying to say here. She is anything but okay. She's terrified. We think she might get pneumonia and I wanted to take her straight to the hospital but she didn't want to go and they thought it would just scare her even more so we decided to wait for you." Rossi said.

"She doesn't look good. And she's really scared." Derek said.

"You really don't think anyone… unm." Emily couldn't say it.

"No we don't think so. But we think she might have seen something or someone tried to do something because she said someone told her to run" Derek said. Emily's heart sank.

She could not believe that was happening. She knew that after everything Isabella had been through she just ran to go home in Seattle because she probably felt safe there, she used to have a good life there, and now she was feeling everything but safe.

"Can I just go see her now?" Emily asked with tears in her eyes.

"Sure. She's in the guest room with Spencer." Rossi said. 

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Emily walked upstairs trying hard not to let her tears fall. She wasn't mad at Bella for running. She was just scared her baby was hurt. JJ and Derek went up with her.

She opened the door but no one was there.

"where are they?" she asked walking into the room and starting to panic, but before anyone could answer they heard a sound from the bathroom a couple of doors away. Isabella was throwing up and Spencer was holding her up because she was to tired to do so.

"Bella?" Emily asked.

"In the bathroom." Spencer shouted between whispering to Bella that she was going to be okay.

Emily ran out to the bathroom that was down the hall.

"Bella!" Emily yelled running over the bathroom where Isabella was now sobbing uncontrollably.

"I've got you honey" She said holding Bella up as she went face into the toilet again.

"I've got you." She whispered and Isabella just sobbed. She felt horrible for everything she made her mom and the team feel. She knew they were scared but she just wanted to go home. She had a plan, she didn't think it would go wrong.

Isabella stopped puking and started to try to control her breathing as tears rolled down her face. Bella turned around and threw her arms around Emily's neck, sobbing into her mother's shoulder.

"I'm s-so s-s-sorry," the little girl choked out, her grip tightening around Emily's neck, forcing the profiler to bring them both to the ground, sitting the child in her lap as she attempted to calm her down.

"Shhh…shhh it's okay….you're okay," Emily comforted, rubbing circles on the girl's back. "It's okay."

JJ, Spencer and Morgan remained silent for a few minutes. Rossi and Hotch went upstairs too. Rossi waited a while but he knew Isabella needed to see a doctor.

"Prentiss, You should take Bella to the hospital to get checked out…." He explained.

"Okay," Emily looked down at her daughter in her arms. "Derek…can you?" She asked looking pointedly at Bella.

"Of course," Morgan replied bending down to Emily and Bella's level.

"Bella….honey look it's Derek, he's just going to help you out okay," Emily said and Isabella simply tightened her grip around Emily. "It's okay, I'll be right with you I promise," Emily reassured, taking Bella's arms from around her neck and passing her off to Morgan.

"I've got you Princess," Derek said as Bella wrapped her arms around the man's neck. Derek carried Bella to the SUV, placing her in the back seat, where Emily quickly climbed in beside her, Derek went around to get into the front, and JJ climbed in the front too.

Hotch, Spencer and David decided to head over to Emily's house where Penelope was anxiously waiting for news.

As soon as Emily was beside her, Isabella gripped her arm, afraid to be away from her, tears still falling rapidly down her cheeks. Emily put an arm around her, placing a soft kiss to the top of her head. "It's okay," she repeated once more.

Derek drove to the hospital.

After around 3 minutes Isabella asked shyly "are you mad?"

Emily wasn't mad she was sorry. "no honey. I'm not mad okay? You scared me but I'm not mad. Im glad you're here now" she said.

"I just wanted to go home. But I got lost and then I stayed at the library and I went to the park and I realized that home was with you and I panicked because I couldn't find my way back. I just couldn't mom." Isabella said fast and cried. Emily held her tight.

"We're here now. And you're gone be okay." Emily said and then noticed she was crying too.

"you're gonna be alright" she whispered on Bella's ear.

.

Derek dropped Emily, Bella and JJ off near the hospital entrance, then leaving them to park the SUV. Emily carried the girl into the building.

"Stay here with JJ" she said placing Bella on JJ's lap and walked to explain the girl's situation to the lady at the desk who directed them to fill out some paperwork while they waited. Isabella sat on JJ's lap, holding on to Emily's shirt since the profiler needed both hands in order to fill out the papers she was given. Derek came in a few minutes later, a big FBI jacket in his hand, which he wrapped around Isabella's shoulders, having noticed her shaking in the car. Emily smiled at this gesture, quietly thanking her partner.

Isabella let go of Emily's shirt, got up and sat on Derek's lap. He wrapped his arms around the small child and laid back on the chair making the girl lay on his chest.

When Emily finished with the papers she got up, planning to take them back to the woman at the desk, causing Bella to look up in alarm.

"I'm going to be right back okay?" Emily reassured, worried by how scared Isabella looked.

"These are all finished," Emily explained, handing the forms over. "Do you think someone could see her now? She got lost today and this rain just made everything worst. We don't really know exactly what happened and I'm worried about how much she's shaking."

The woman looked down at the forms, and then looked up at the small child who was visibly shaking and was as white as a ghost. "I'm gonna take a look here" She said feeling bad for the little girl. She typed some things on the computer then said:

"Alright head into room 102, it's just on your right there. I'll send someone in" the woman explained.

"Thank you," Emily said, making her way back to her daughter who was now holding JJ's hand but still sitting on Derek's lap. "Let's go?," she asked Bella, who got up shakily, taking her mother's hand. Emily picked the girl up and Bella rested her head on the woman's shoulder.

"We'll wait here," Morgan said looking over at JJ who agreed, as Emily and Bella headed towards the room. Emily put Bella down on the bed and sat beside her. Bella's silence and face was beginning to really worry Emily, She just wished she could make her feel better, but all she could do was be there. So Emily sat there, rubbing circles on the back of the girl's smaller hand.

A few minutes later a young male doctor walked in, reading Isabella's forms as he made his way over to the bed.

"Hello ladies, I'm doctor Miller, I understand someone was out in this crazy weather."

Emily said "Umm yes. She got lost and the rain got her…she umm."

"Carry at the desk explained the situation," Doctor Miller nodded, understanding that the young girl was scared. The doctor then got down to Isabella's level, meeting her eyes. "Can you tell me your name?" He asked softly.

"Bella," came Isabella's quiet reply.

"How old are you Bella?"

"ten."

"Do you know how long you were outside in the rain sweetie?" He asked and Isabella shook her head no.

"Can you breath okay?" He asked knowing it was a no because he could hear her breathing.

"no" she whispered.

"Do you mind if I check your lungs?" He asked getting his stethoscope out of his neck and Isabella shook her head no. He lifted her shirt a little.

"Can you take a deep breath for me?" He asked and she did. He finished examining her lungs and said "I'm gonna need an X-Ray because it really doesn't sound that good" He said and Bella squeezed Emily's hand.

"So what else do you feel?" He asked but Bella didn't answer. "Does you tummy hurts? Or did you puke? Or your head hurts?" He asked softly because he could see she was definitely sick.

"my head hurts" he said.

"Did you hit your head?" Dr. Miller asked.

"N-no."

"Good, that's very good," Dr. Miller smiled.

"She did puke quite a bit" Emily added.

"yeah?" he asked Bella and she nodded yes. "Does anything else hurts?" he asked and she shook her head no.

"That's good. So.. We do need X-Rays of her lungs because it seems like it might be pneumonia. If she stayed more then 2 hours out in this weather there's a big chance specially because of her weight." He said noticing how skinny the kid was. "So we need to admit her in and do the X-rays and a blood test to make sure so we can begin treating whatever she has. And she also seems to be in shock."

"Okay, thank you." Emily responded, squeezing Bella's hand.

"I'll walk you to the room and a nurse will give you some papers ." He said. "Let's go"

Emily picked the girl up and followed the doctor to the 3rd floor where the pediatric area was. He stopped at the desk and got clothes for Bella. He handed it to Emily.

"You two can make yourself comfortable in here and they'll take you to take pictures soon, and I will be in to check you later." Dr. Miller said as Emily up Bella down on the bed.

"The nurse will bring you the papers. If you have any problems just hit the call button." Dr. Miller explained to Emily before exiting the room.

"Let's change your clothes" Emily said and they headed to the bathroom. Isabella undressed and Emily helped her put hospital pajamas on. It was shorts and a big shirt. They rarely ever used gowns at that pediatric floor.

Then they headed back to the room.

"Come on Bella, why don't you lie back, and rest," Emily said, standing up and pulling Bella towards the head of the bed, sitting down in a chair beside the bed, still holding her hand. "You rest, I'll be right here."

It wasn't long till a nurse came in.

"Hi my name is Margaret. You can call me Maggie if you want. I came to take a bit of your blood so they can see what's going on okay?" She said going close to the bed and smiling to Bella who just nodded yes.

"Is she okay with blood tests?" The nurse asked Emily because she noticed how tense Isabella got.

"Yeah. Yeah." Emily said sitting on the bed close to Bella and taking her hand. Isabella wasn't used to being sick, she rarely ever even got a cold. She had always been really brave when it came to needles. She just hated IVs.

The nurse was done really fast and Bella held Emily's hand the entire time and her eyes filled with tears but she didn't cry.

"I'm gonna send this to get checked and I'll be right back" the nurse said and left.

Isabella's eye were full. She was so scared, she wanted to go home with her mom. Emily saw Bella's face and she could tell the kid was trying hard not to cry again. "I'm right here baby" Emily said hugging the girl. She gave Bella a kiss on the forehead. "You're gonna be alright" she said and just sat there next to Bella on the bed and held her hand.

In about 4 minutes the nurse went back reading Isabella's chart. "Have you ever had an IV before?" she asked and Bella nodded yes. "Well the doctor requested one to go in your hand so would it be okay if I put it in really quick?" The nurse asked softly as she could see the kid was not okay.

"yeah" Isabella whispered.

Nurse Maggie began to get things ready and took Bella's right hand. Isabella knew what it felt like and she always hated it.

"Mom?" she whispered looking at Emily with tears in her eyes.

"I'm right here. You're gonna be okay." Emily said striking Bella's hair.

"You're ready?" the nurse asked and Bella nodded yes unable to keep the tears in.

"Oh don't cry. I'll do it really fast okay honey?" The nurse said.

"It's okay. You're okay" Emily said.

"Do you want me to count?" The nurse asked.

"No" Bella said and the nurse started.

She cleaned with the alcohol and Isabella squeezed Emily's hand as the needle went in. It had to be moved a little so it could be In the right place and then Nurse Maggie held it in place with the special tape.

"all done" The nurse said. "I'm gonna go get you the papers" she said and left.

"you did very good honey" Emily said and gave Bella a kiss on the forehead and then wiped Bella's face. "You did so good" Emily said with a smile and hugged Bella. She knew how much Bella hated Ivs.

Emily sat next to Bella and the nurse went back. She handed Emily some papers and went out. Emily read it and signed it and after a little while two doctors appeared at the door to take Isabella to do X-rays. She was scared because she knew she would have to leave her mom there.

"It's really fast honey. You'll be back soon and I'm not going anywhere okay?" Emily said and Bella nodded yes and the doctor took her. 

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Luckily it went faster then she thought it was going to go and she was back with her mom. Emily hugged her and the doctor stepped inside the room.

"Hi. So are you feeling any better?" He asked and his no came with Isabella coughing. He and Emily helped her up till it stopped and she laid down looking really exhausted. "Can I talk to your mom really quick?" he asked. Isabella thought for a while and then nodded yes.

"We'll be right back" the doctor said and Emily kissed Bella's forehead and they headed out.

.

"So I got the blood work and checked the X-ray and it's pneumonia." He said and Emily nodded. "The blood work also showed her counts are very low which is probably due to her weight. Her level of dehydration doesn't match to some hours out in the rain so I assume she's not eating very well is she?" He said.

"No" Emily said.

"Well, her fever is high so she'll need ibuprofen for that. she also needs vitamins and the Iv will help with that but she won't get enough vitamin B. so she'll need two injections on her leg" he said.

"Alright" Emily said looking back into the room. She knew Bella would not like that. She knew those two shots hurt.

"And with the pneumonia. There are two courses of treatment but what I think its really important now is to make sure she's hydrated so she'll need to spend the day here. I saw she's not allergic to penicillin so we can either give her a shot or start with oral. In my opinion a shot would disturb her to much. It's really painful and she just …" He said.

"Oh no. No penicillin shots. She's too little. And the vitamin B..." Emily said.

"I agree. So we can start with oral now and she'll need 5mls every 6 hours. This way it takes longer for her to get better but as soon as she's hydrated I can send her home" he said.

"Okay. Thank you so much" Emily said and then she went inside.

"Hey" Emily said sitting next to her daughter. "you have pneumonia. But you'll be okay." She said striking Bella's hair. Suddenly nurse Maggie went back in with a tray on her hands.

"Bella. You need some vitamins okay? So she needs to give you two little shots on your leg alright?" Emily said striking Bella's hair.

"Is it gonna hurt?" Bella whispered. Emily could tell she was scared.

"Look" Emily said. She wasn't going to lie to the kid anymore. "It hurts a little bit but it's just a little and I'll be right here okay?" She said calmly and held Isabella's hand.

"I'll do it really fast okay?" Nurse Maggie said.

"Okay" Bella said and the nurse took the covers off of her. She pushed the short up to show the spot where she would give the shot and she cleaned with the alcohol.

"You just need to stay still okay?" The nurse said.

"Mom?" Bella said. "Can you hug me?"

"Of course" Emily said. She got on the bed and hugged Bella tight.

"Just make sure you hold her hands mom" the nurse said afraid Bella would try to stop her. "And you just relax okay honey?" She said.

"Okay" Bella said.

The first one she made a face and squeezed Emily tight. The nurse quickly finished and then gave the second one on the other leg and when the medicine went in she closed her eyes tight and tried to be tough and not cry. Emily held her down a little as she started to beg the nurse to stop.

"Almost done. Almost done" the nurse said and Bella cried a little. She had to do it slow. Bella cried and then the nurse was done.

"It's over." The nurse said putting band-aids on her legs.

Bella kept crying still hugging Emily. "It stings really bad when the medicine goes in" she said and began to cough.

Emily let go of the hug. "It's all done" she said wiping Bella's tears.

"It still stings mom" Bella said.

"I know honey" Emily said striking Bella hair. "It's gonna stop soon" she said and Bella held her hand again. "Just rest okay?" She said wiping Bella's face and Bella nodded.

Emily got the tv remote and turned it on so Bella would be distracted.

"Now all you need to do is drink this" the nurse said handing Bella the medicine. She sat up and drank it.

"You're all done" Maggie said and Bella laid back. 

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Emily spent the day sitting next to Isabella, while the girl laid quietly staring at the tv, refusing to go to sleep. Wrapped under the blankets, Isabella's shaking eventually subsided, and her coloring eventually came back, though she looked exhausted. Morgan went to the room, making sure that there wasn't anything Emily needed. Emily tried to get him to go home when JJ went, but he insisted to stay.

Doctor Miller returned later that day.

"Well Bella, you look much better," he greeted, approaching the two brunettes. "How are you feeling?"

"a bit better," she responded quietly.

"Alright, that's good. Agent Prentiss would it be okay if I spoke to you in the hall for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure," Emily replied slowly standing up. "I'll be right back honey, Derek is right here" she said releasing her hand from Bella who still didn't seem to want to let go. Derek stood up and sat on the chair next to the bed and held the girl's hand.

.

Out in the hallway Dr. Miller turned to Emily just outside the door.

"I'm going to let Her go home, You need to keep the medication for two weeks."

"Okay" Emily said, shaking the doctor's hand. "Thank you."

"She'll need a follow up in 5 days and anything just call. Oh and when you get home let her shower or take a bath. Warm water but not too hot. It will help with the fever" He said handing his card. "Take care," Dr. Miller responded, making his way down the hall to see another patient.

Emily walked back into the room, giving Isabella a small smile when she met her eyes across the room. "Well you're free to go," Emily said, making her way over to the bed. She stroke Bella's hair.

Suddenly the nurse went in to take the Iv off. Emily got the FBI jacket Morgan had given Bella and helped her put it on.

"You look good in my jacket" he told Bella and she just stared at the floor exhausted.

"Come here princess" he said getting close to her and wrapping his arms around her.

He picked her up.

"Ouch" she said.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

"My leg hurts" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"Which one?" Emily asked.

"The right one." Bella said.

"It will be sore for a little while." Emily said running her hands on Bella's back.

"Let's go" Emily said and they headed out. Morgan put Bella down in the back seat and Emily jumped in next to her. 

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It was a little passed 8pm when they went to the apartment. The drive was quiet, and Isabella remained silent as they made their way up to the apartment. When they went inside everyone was there. Bella was embarrassed so she hid behind Emily. They were greeted by Penelope, who immediately stood up from the chair where she was sitting on the island. "Oh thank God."

Emily gave Garcia a small smile. Penelope hesitated before giving Bella a hug but the kid seemed to relax in the embrace, hugging the blonde back. Everyone was up around them now.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked as she pulled out of the hug, placing a hand on Bella's cheek. She could feel the child was hot.

Bella nodded yes, looking exhausted, and holding Emily's hand again. The girl could see everyone staring at her and she knew they were wondering why she ran away.

"Mom…I…" she began.

"We can talk about it tomorrow," Emily interrupted.. At these words Emily was surprised to see that tears immediately began to fall from Isabella's eyes. Emily quickly hugged her.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay," she comforted.

"I heard this girl last night" she said.

"what girl honey?" JJ asked.

"they was Unm... scream. She was screaming so loud" Isabella choked out, letting out a sob, and hugged her mom again. Emily looked back, meeting Derek's eyes, unsure of what to say to her daughter at this moment.

Derek stepped in and asked "why were they screaming?"

"I don't know... I think she was hurt" Bella cried. "the library closed and I went to get coffee at this coffee place because I was so cold. And The lady said they were closing and and umm I had to leave so I went outside and I down the rode and I sat and heard someone scream." she cried, talking fast and skipping word, and then started couching. Emily rubbed her back a little and she started talking again.

"I didn't went to help. I wanted to but im not crazy. But this other guy went there. He just ran there. And I couldn't call the police I didn't have a phone so He said for me to walk away and then he told me to run. So we just sprint but I think someone got him." She said really fast barely able to catch a breath at the end.

"Oh honey" Emily said kneeing down.

"I wanted to help but he told me to run and so I just ran. And then I got lost again" she cried. "I just wanted to go back home mommy"

"I know sweetie, I know" Emily began, rubbing circles on Bella's back. "But it's over now….it's over." Emily said but Isabella continued to cry silently. "It's going to be okay," Emily reassured, stroking the young girl's head in comfort.

"Hey come here" Derek said picking the small girl up, and Emily stood up. "Let me take you upstairs" He said walking to the stairs.

"I'll be right up honey" Emily said then thanked Derek.

"We'll find what happened, okay Bella?" JJ said. "Don't worry" she said as Derek went upstairs and Emily sat with the team on the couch. 

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Upstairs Derek sat on Bella's bed and she sat on his lap.

"We've got you kid" He said and she just hugged him. They stayed like that while Emily talked to the team.

"So we know she heard a girl screaming and a guy went to help and then he ran and told her to run" JJ said.

"She must have been so scared" Rossi said.

"my poor sugarplum" Penelope said.

"She said it was after the library closed. So around 7 maybe?" Hotch said.

"It could have been just a robbery" JJ said.

"But the other guy ran." Penelope said.

"yeah. It doesn't sound like robbery to me" Rossi said. Everyone was staring at Emily who was quietly just listening to them.

"Em?" JJ called placing her hand on Emily's arm.

"I'm gonna go check on her" she said serious and went upstairs.

The team could see how in shock she was. She couldn't believe that her baby could have been hurt really bad.

Hotch and Rossi decided to contact the local police and ask for rounds all over the surroundings of the library because they thought a murder might have happened there. Then both went home with Spencer and made sure to ask JJ to tell Emily to call them in case she needed anything. JJ and Penelope decided to stay just in case Emily needed help with the girl.


	41. Chapter 41: Super Sick

Upstairs Emily went inside the room to find Bella in tears on Morgan's lap. Emily could see how hard the child's grip was on the man's shirt. She could tell the kid was terrified.

"She threw up again Em" Derek said. Isabella had told him she wasn't feeling so good then she just ran to her bathroom and went heavy into the toilet. He helped her up as she cried and threw up.

"Let's shower honey" Emily said. "It's gonna make you feel a bit better" she said walking to them. She held Bella's hand and they went to the bathroom. Emily helped Bella with her clothes, Isabella was embarrassed but she just wanted her mom to stay there with her. She got in the shower and Emily said "I'm gonna get your pajamas. I'll be right back" and she left the bathroom.

Derek was still sitting on Bella's bed and JJ and Penelope were with him.

"How's she?" Penelope asked.

"Pretty shaken up but she'll be alright." Emily said looking for pajamas on Bella's wardrobe. She picked long sleeves and pants because it was cold and the kid had pneumonia so.

She went inside the bathroom again and Bella was already wrapped in a towl.

"you're done?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes. She got dressed with her mother's help. Emily couldn't help but noticed a purple bruise on the girls leg from the shot.

She hugged Isabella tight when she finished and they went back to the bedroom. Isabella sat on the bed next to Penelope who hugged her. Emily quietly moved the covers down.

"You should try and get some sleep," Emily whispered sitting on the bed and Bella moved next to her. "You'll feel better in the morning."

"Will you stay?" Bella sniffed quietly.

"Sure baby" Emily responded, moving to lay Bella down, keeping an arm wrapped around her as she lay down beside her.

"We'll be downstairs" Derek said.

"Goodnight" Penelope and JJ said in unison.

"Goodnight" Emily said and they walked out.

"Hey. anything" Derek said.

Emily smiled in a way of thanking them for being there. "Make yourself at home" she said.

"Mom?..My blanket" Bella said while tears filled her eyes.

"Where did you put it?" Emily asked confused.

"In my purse" Bella cried.

"Oh honey" Emily said and hugged Bella.

"Hey calm down. It's at Rossi's house" Derek said.

"It is?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. It's on the bed. I took it off of you remember?" Derek said and Bella nodded yes and wiped her face. "I'll go get it" he said.

"Derek it's alright. We know it's not lost we can get it tomorrow" Emily said not wanting her friend to drive to Rossi's house to get it.

"No" Bella cried. She needed it.

"It's okay Em" he said heading out the door. Emily just hugged Bella.

"Where are you going?" JJ asked as Derek walked passed them heading to the door.

"Rossi's" he said.

"What? Why?" Penelope asked confused.

"Isabella's purse is there" he said.

"You mean this one?" JJ said holding the small purse up.

"Oh JJ you're a savior" he said.

"Well you might wanna thank Spence. He brought it here" she said handing it to Derek. He opened and got the small blanket out.

"Is that her...?" Penelope said.

"Yes it is" Derek said.

"Awww she packed her blanket" JJ said.

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever seen" Penelope said.

"Yeah" Derek agreed walking to the stairs and heading to the bedroom.

"Hey. Look what I found" he said walking into the room. "Reid brought it" he smiled.

"Thank you" Bella said as he handed it to her. She snuggled it and hugged her mom.

"Alright so you guys rest okay?" He said. "We're gonna eat something downstairs"

"Make yourself at home" Emily said and he went out. 

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After a while Derek made himself a bed next to Isabella's bed just in case and JJ and Penelope went to Emily's bed. Emily and Bella fell asleep quickly; the child wrapped in the older woman's arms, both exhausted.

The peaceful sleep however did not last long, as Isabella's sleep was plagued by nightmares, causing her to wake up screaming several times throughout the night. Each time this happened Emily would comfort her, offering her soothing words until she would eventually fall back asleep, Derek watched from the bed on the floor, ready to offer her some help if needed.

Isabella ran to the bathroom once and Emily held her and comforted her as she threw up once again. Derek watched from the bathroom door waiting there in case they needed him. Bella cried herself to sleep after that while hugging her mother. After a while Emily went to the bathroom and later went back to the room and sat on the bed.

"She never got sick like this Derek" Emily said noticing Derek's wondering eyes staring at her. "I think it's freaking her out"

"She has never?" He asked.

"She stayed in the hospital for 3 days when she was 5 but I don't even think she remembers that" Emily said.

"Well that's actually good" he said.

"Yeah. I know. I guess it just makes her more scared because she doesn't really know what to expect"

"Yeah" Derek agreed.

"John never really let her see too much you know" she said and Derek smiled.

"Well we should try to sleep again" He told her and she agreed and they went back to sleep. 

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 **(Saturday)**

When Derek woke late the next morning, he was not surprised to see Emily with her arm around Bella, Bella gripping on to Emily's shirt, Emily still wearing their clothes from the day before. This sight put a smile on his face, happy to see the pair looking so peaceful. He grabbed his phone and found a message from Hotch saying that they found a body of a 15 year old woman. But they didn't found a man. Derek quietly got out of bed, heading into the bathroom so he could shower before going to meet Hotch. Twenty-five minutes later, Derek exited the bathroom, dressed in the same clothes. He was not surprised to see that Isabella was still fast asleep, in the same position as when he left the room. Looking towards Emily, he found brown eyes staring back at him, a small smile on the profiler's face as she ran her fingers through Bella's dark hair.

"Hi," Emily whispered, not wanting to disturb Bella whose tight grip on her shirt was preventing her from getting out of bed. "What time is it?"

"Almost 11," Derek answered, his heart swelling at how content her friend looked in this moment.

"Are you meeting the team?" Emily asked slightly confused.

"No…well just Hotch," He explained quietly. "They found a body but nothing else so we're gonna take a look."

"Oh," Emily responded. "Anything let me know"  
Unable to move without waking Isabella, Emily laid in bed, softly stroking the child's hair and allowing herself to relish in being with her daughter like that. Each time Bella had awoken in screams during the night, it had broken Emily's heart. All she wanted to do was take away the young girl's pain.

Suddenly Isabella shifted, tightening her hold on Emily's shirt; breaking the profiler from her thoughts. Slowly Isabella's eyes began to flutter open, meeting brown eyes that looked like her own gazing back at her. "Hi," the girl greeted, her voice coming out in only a whisper.

"Good Morning," Emily smiled.

"Morning" Isabella said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Emily tucked Bella's hair behind her ear. Isabella gave Emily a small smile, taking comfort in the gesture.

"How about some breakfast?" Emily said, moving to sit up against the headboard.

"Sure" Bella replied sounding tired.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked the child.

"Fine" she replied and Emily couldn't help but make a face. She knew the girl was anything but fine.

"Listen….about yesterday," Isabella began. "I'm really sorry…I just…I just needed..."

"I get it," Emily said, feeling like she probably would have reacted the same way if she was Bella.

"I just miss everyone... I miss him" Bella explained with her eyes full of tears. "….I really am sorry mom."

"It's okay," Emily reassured once again wiping a tear that escaped the child's eye. "Really it is…but …if this isn't what you want…"

"No…no.," Isabella replied suddenly nervous. "I want it mom. Don't you ever again think I don't" she said. Emily hugged Bella and said "I'm glad you want it".

"I love you mommy" the young girl cried and Emily tightened the hug.

"I love you too" she said.

Bella stopped crying eventually and suddenly Penelope walked in. "Hi" Penelope said at the door.

"Come on in" Emily said and Bella started coughing.

"I've got her medicine" Penelope said handing it over to Emily. Emily gave it to Bella and she sat up and drank it. And then started coughing again.

"Lay down" Emily said and Bella laid down. Emily tucked her in and said: "can I go downstairs really quick? I'll be right back" she said knowing the girl wanted to stay with her.

"I'll stay here" Penelope said and Bella nodded yes. So Emily gave her a kiss and headed out. Penelope laid next to Bella and hugged her.

"I'm glad you here. My little pumpkin" Penelope said. "Don't you ever ever do that again okay?" She said. Bella then turned to face her.

"I promise I won't" she said and hugged Penelope.

"I love you aunt penny" Bella cried. Penelope couldn't help but cry too.

"I love you too pumpkin" Penelope said crying now but smiling at the same time. 

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Downstairs Emily talked to JJ about what the team knew about the teen that died and they didn't know much. There were no cameras, nothing. And there was no signs of the man Bella said that told her to run.

She drank some coffee and put two pancakes with syrup that Penelope had made on a plate for Bella. She was scared at how the eating thing would go now.

"Well. I gotta go try to get her to eat this" Emily said. "Wish me good luck"

"I'll be there with you Em." JJ said and Emily smiled and they headed upstairs.

.

When they got to the bedroom Bella was hugging Penelope.

"Good morning Bella" JJ said sitting at the end of the bed while Emily sat next to Bella.

"Hey. I need you to eat this for me" Emily said holding the plate. Isabella looked exhausted. She look down to the bed sheet as her eyes filled with tears.

"Honey. I'm not going to force you to eat but we don't want to go back to the hospital for you to take another one of those shots. Do we?" She said calm but serious.

"No" Bella said.

"So just try, okay?" Emily said.

"Can you just wait a little bit? I'll eat I will" Bella said trying hard not to cry.

"Okay" Emily said nodding.

Bella buried herself In the middle of the pillows and she started coughing. Emily placed the plate in the nightstand and pulled Bella to her arms. She hugged the girl till she calmed down a bit.

"Do you wanna try it now?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said.

Emily smiled and helped her sit up. Isabella ate it all with tears filling her eyes and falling from time to time. But she didn't complain and as soon as she was done she laid back again.

"Good job honey" Emily said smiling and placing the plate back in the nightstand. Bella snuggled her blanket.

"Mom? I'm not gonna need that shot again will I?" She asked.

"Let's work so you don't. Okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella cried a little. "It really stings mom"

"I know baby. I'm sorry" Emily said and gave Bella a kiss.

"No more crying okay? Cause you're making me cry now" JJ said. "Let's watch a movie"

"Living room?" Emily asked Bella and the girl nodded yes. Emily picked her up and carried her downstairs.

"I don't feel very good" Bella said as they got to the bottom of the stairs. She tried to get out of Emily's arms and said "bathroom". Emily let her down and Isabella ran to the guest bathroom. She threw up again.

After cleaning up, They laid on the couch together while JJ and Penelope went through the DVDs.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" JJ said noticing Emily was basically now tightened to the girl. She opened the door and it was Hilary with her daughters.

"Hi. I came to check on Bella. Russel said she's home" Hilary said, Russell was the doorman.

"Oh come on in." JJ said.

"Hilary?" Emily said spotting the woman from the couch.

"Hi" Hilary said and walked over there with the girls and JJ.

"Hi honey" she said to Bella when she saw the pale kid hugging Emily. Bella buried her face on Emily trying to hide, she was embarrassed.

"Bella." Emily said but the kid wouldn't move. "It's Hilary , Chloe and Millie honey" she said.

"Oh it's okay. I can come another time I just wanted to make she was alright" Hilary said and suddenly Chloe just ran and hugged Bella.

"Don't you ever do that again" She cried. "You got me worried sick. I thought you were dead" Chloe cried.

Isabella let go of Emily and looked at Chloe. "I'm sorry" she cried wrapping her arms around her friend and like that sitting up On a little tip of the couch. They just hugged and cried.

"Don't you ever do that again" Chloe said.

"I'm sorry" was all Bella could say. Everyone in the room was crying at that point. The girls kept hugging and suddenly JJ said:

"Well, now that everyone is here can we just watch a movie? Peacefully"

Chloe let go of Bella and Emily sat on the couch. Bella snuggled her mom and Chloe sat next to them. Millie jumped on Chloe's lap and Hilary sat on the ground with Penelope and JJ sat on the other couch.

They started watching 'Baby Mama'.

20 minutes into the movie Bella was out.

"Is she okay?" Chloe asked Emily. She looked very concern.

"She's gonna be alright. She has pneumonia right now but she's taking a medicine that will make her get better soon" Emily explained.

"She ran away to home didn't she?" Chloe asked. "She had talked about it. In the last couple of days. I'm really sorry I thought she meant here" Chloe said with tears in her eyes.

"Oh honey you couldn't have known." Emily said. "I thought she meant here too"

"But she's gonna be okay" Chloe said.

"She's going to be fine" Emily told the girl and kissed Bella's head. "She's going to be just fine" she smiled.

They finished the movie and it was almost 2, Hilary decided to head home to give Millie lunch and Chloe asked if she could stay.

"Sure. I think Bella will love to have you here when she wakes up" Emily said.

"Don't you wanna have lunch first Chloe? You can come back afterwards" Hilary said.

"I'm not hungry mom. And I want to be here when she wakes up" Chloe said.

"Are you sure this is okay Emily?" Hilary asked.

"Yeah. Chloe is no problem" Emily smiled and they said their goodbyes and Hilary left.

Emily was starving and Bella had to eat too. She got out of the couch and laid Bella's head on a pillow.

"Emily, she's shaking" JJ said concern.

"Chlo can you me a favor and get one of the blankets of her bed please?" Emily asked.

"Sure" she said heading to the stairs.

"Actually make it two" Emily said realizing the kid was shaking a lot. Chloe went up and Emily checked Bella's fever.

"Holy shit." She said.

"What happened?" Penelope asked concern with her friend choice of words.

"it's over 104" Emily said.

"Wow no wonder she's shaking so much" JJ said.

Suddenly Chloe walked back with the blankets. Emily covered Bella up and the kid didn't even woke up.

"I brought this too" Chloe said handing Bella's little blanket. "I thought she might want it"

"Thank you" Emily smiled at the shy girl and took the blanket. She put it close to Bella's face and Isabella grabbed it.

"I'm sure she's thanking you too" Penelope said and they all smiled.

"Let me get her some Tylenol" Emily said heading to the kitchen.

She walked back and woke Bella up.

"Bella." She whispered. "Hey" she said and the girl's eyes opened. "Hi" Emily said.

"Mom. I don't feel good" Bella whispered.

"I know. Drink this" Emily said and Bella sat up to drink the medicine.

"I really don't feel good" she said and started crying and couching.

"Hold this" Emily told Penelope and handed the medicine to her friend and she sat on the couch and hugged Bella.

"I don't feel good" the kid sobbed. Emily pulled her to her lap.

"Em. Her fever is too high and she's shaking so much. You should take her to the hospital." JJ said.

"I don't feel good" was all Isabella kept saying. "I'm dizzy" she said.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Let me get it" JJ said and she went while Emily tried calming Bella down.

"Drink the medicine to see if it helps honey" she said but Bella just hugged her and kept crying.

.

JJ opened the door and it was Derek.

"Why is she crying?" He asked walking in.

"She's saying she doesn't feel good" JJ said. "Her fever is at 105 and she's shaking too much" she said concern.

"Emily?" Derek said walking to the couch.

"I'm taking her to the hospital" Emily said.

"Come here princess" Derek said trying to pick Bella up but she would budge. "Hey it's me. I'm gonna take you to the car" he said.

"No. I don't wanna go" Bella cried.

"Oh princess. I know. But your mom is gonna be right there with you don't worry" he said. "Come on" he said picking her up. She took her blanket with her.

"I don't wanna go to the hospital" she cried.

"Can I come?" Chloe asked. "I can call my mom to let her know"

"Sure" Emily said. She knew Chloe could help keeping Bella distracted.

"We're going too" Penelope said.

"Yeah. Will is with Henry" JJ said.

"Okay" Emily said and they headed to the car.

Derek placed Bella in the back seat and Emily hopped in to sit beside Bella, who quickly hugged her mother. Chloe sat beside Emily and on the other side JJ sat. Penelope went on the front with Derek.

"Mom, I don't want go back to the hospital." Isabella cried.

"Honey, I'm sorry but that's gonna make you better" Emily said.

"They are gonna give me that shot mom" Isabella cried. She knew what the treatment for pneumonia was.

"What shot honey?" JJ asked.

"I don't want penicillin mommy" she cried.

"Oh honey we don't know" Emily said. "We don't know if they'll give you that, okay? Maybe they will but we don't know. Don't get yourself worked up about it okay? We don't know" Emily said and Bella just cried. "okay?" Emily asked.

"Okay" Bella cried and hugged Emily tight. She was really scared.

Isabella hugged Emily the entire drive and when her sniffing stopped they realized she had fallen asleep. When they got to the hospital Derek picked her up and they went to the emergency room.

He sat on a chair with her while Emily filled some papers and she didn't even wake up.

Soon they were called in. Penelope, JJ and Chloe stayed outside while Emily and Derek went in with Bella.

Derek sat on a chair and Bella kept sleeping on his arms. Nurse Maggie was still on call so she talked to the doctor on call, Dr. Sarah Sullivan and explained with Emily what had happened to Bella and that she stayed there the day before.

"She looks worse" Maggie told Emily and Emily nodded.

"Let me check her. Can you lay her down here" the doctor said pointing to the bed. Derek laid Bella down and she stayed sleeping.

The doctor checked her heart and lungs, then took her temperature.

"105.1" she said. "This is not good" she added concern.

"Well, she's gonna need a CT scan of her lungs. That's gonna make us see better then the x-Rays and it's likely that she really got worse. And we are clear to say that it's very likely she was sick before and the rain made it worse." Doctor Sullivan said soothing the sleeping girl's hair.

"She's gonna need a blood test to check her counts and let's put her on Iv." The doctor said. "Maggie can you take them to a room please?"

"Sure" Maggie said.

"I'll go check on her soon." Doctor Sarah Sullivan said.

Derek picked Bella up and they headed to the room. They got inside and another nurse came with hospital clothes for Bella.

"Let's go to the bathroom" Emily told Derek.

"I'll help you" nurse Maggie said.

Derek took Bella to the bathroom and Emily woke her up.

"Bella. Honey wake up" she said. "Hey you have to change. Wake up" she said and Bella opened her eyes. "Hi" Emily said. Isabella looked at the familiar bathroom. She realized she was staying in the hospital again and her eyes got full.

"Oh honey don't cry. You'll be alright okay? Let's change your clothes. Come on" Emily said and Derek put Bella down. "Sit here" Emily said grabbing Isabella's hand and she sat on the closed toilet. "Derek can you get Penelope for me?" Emily said.

She knew Penelope had a way of calming Bella down too and she thought the kid would need that. So Derek left and Emily and Maggie helped Bella change.

"I was hoping I wasn't going to see you anytime soon" Maggie said.

"Me too" Bella said looking down and hugging Emily.

"Has anyone ever told you you are the most adorable 10 year old ever?" Maggie asked running her hand on Bella's back.

"If I need another shot. Can you do it?" Isabella asked embarrassed. "And like really fast?"

"Of course. And I promise I will do as fast as I can" nurse Maggie said giving Bella a sweet smile.

"Let's go lay down" Emily said smiling and picked Bella up. She carried the girl to the bed and laid her there. She was glad at least the child liked the nurse.

"Hi pumpkin" Penelope said walking in the room, followed by JJ, Chloe and Derek. Isabella looked at her with a very sad face. She went to the bed and hugged the girl. "You're gonna be alright okay little tiny? We're gonna be right by your side. Okay?" Penelope said and Bella turned to snuggle Emily and Maggie walked out. After a little while she came back.

"Bella we're gonna have to do just like last time okay? the blood test and the Iv okay?" Maggie said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Alright. Which arm do you want it?" The nurse asked and Bella took her left arm out from under the covers. "This one" Isabella said and started coughing.

Emily walked to the other side and held Bella's hand. The nurse did the blood test and Bella just looked at Emily and Penelope.

"Alright. Now the Iv" the nurse said and Bella got a bit tense.

Derek saw it and said "you've got it princess. You're tough"

Bella just laid in silence.

"Are you ready?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah just do it" Bella said and squeezed Emily's hand. Maggie did it and Bella just squeezed her mother's hand. Once she was done the nurse excused herself and said she would be back soon.

"See I knew you could do it kiddo" Derek told Bella.

"Mom? Can you lay down with me?" Isabella asked shyly and Emily laid next to her. Bella snuggled close to Emily and after a little while fell back asleep.

The nurse went back and the doctor accompanied her. The doctor said there could not be too many people in the room. She said only 2 could stay with a child but she could make an exception and allow 3 since Derek was the agent who had found the girl in the park and that was in the file so he wasn't written as family. So JJ decided to go home and Emily thought it was best if she took Chloe back home.

"I really wanna stay Emily" Chloe said. "I'll be good I promise"

"Oh Chloe I know you'll be good. It's just that Bella is very scared right now and she doesn't really like letting people see that, you know that right? but these too have seen a lot of it so I think it's best if they stay here" Emily said. "I can get someone to pick you up at visitation hours"

"Okay." Chloe said with an understanding look. She knew what Emily was saying was true and as much as she wanted to stay with her friend she knew Emily was right so she left with JJ.

.

After a little while the nurse went back saying Isabella needed an ibuprofen injection because of the fever and another shot to help with relaxing her muscles so the couching would get less painful. Emily woke Bella up and told her.

"Okay" Bella said. She looked a bit scared but okay with what she had to do.

"I'll do it as fast as I can" the nurse said taking the covers off and Bella nodded yes.

"Mom?" She said and just by looking at her face Emily knew she wanted a hug.

"I'm right here. You're gonna be alright" Emily said hugging Bella.

"Make sure you have her hands Emily" Maggie said noticing Bella's left hand lose. Emily held it and the nurse started with the shots.

The first one Isabella didn't even move or anything. The second one she squeezed her eyes tight and when it was done she left out a crying "au".

"It's all done" Maggie said.

"It hurt more when you took it off" Isabella cried and Emily hugged her.

"It's gonna stop soon" Emily said and the nurse put bandaids on and massaged her leg a little. Bella let go of Emily and wiped her face.

"Well we're gonna take you to do a CT scan soon. Do you know what that is?" Nurse Maggie said.

"Yes" Bella said.

"And what is that?" The nurse asked.

"It's like a picture" Bella said shyly.

"Exactly. It just takes a bit longer than an x-Ray but it's like a picture" she said. "But you'll be okay there it doesn't hurt at all okay?"

"Okay" Bella agreed and closed her eyes. She was so tired, she just wanted to sleep.  
.

After a while the nurse came with another nurse to take Bella to do the ct. Isabella was asleep so Emily woke her and told her they were taking her. She said "okay" and Emily said that she would wait right there and promised bella that she would be fine. They took her to the ct scan and she was pretty much okay till the end. She started feeling nauseous and she said "I don't feel very good"

"What exactly are you feeling sweetheart?" Nurse Maggie said and before Bella could answer she sat up a bit, turned to the right side of the bed and threw up on the floor. Tears started rolling down her face as she threw up and the nurse held her hair out of her face. When she stopped she asked for Emily and laid back down crying.

"We're gonna take you to your mama now. Don't worry" Maggie said and they cleaned her mouth and took her back.

"What happened?" Emily asked really worried seeing Bella coming back crying really bad.

"She just threw up" Maggie said.

"Oh honey" Emily said grabbing Bella's hand. "It's okay"

"I'm sorry" Bella told Maggie.

"Oh sweetheart it's okay. You just threw up. There's nothing wrong with that" Maggie said.

"I tried to hold it and go to the bathroom but I couldn't" Bella said embarrassed and everyone in the room had a sweet smile on their faces.

"Honey. It's okay." Emily said smiling.

"Why are you smiling mom? It's not funny" Bella said.

"Sorry honey it's just... You're not used to this. People threw up in hospital all the time. It's completely normal. You don't have to apologize" she said.

"Hundreds of times a day" nurse Maggie laughed and everyone laughed too including Bella.

"Oh there you go. That's better" Derek said noticing the young girl's smile. Bella shyly hid her face on her mother. Everyone smiled and Emily said "get some rest. Come on. Try to sleep a little bit" and Bella closed her eyes. It wasn't long till she feel asleep.

After a while Doctor Sarah Sullivan went back to the room accompanied by nurse Maggie.

"Hi" the doctor said and Emily stood up from the bed. "Well, she did get worse" the doctor said and everyone looked upset.

"This definitely had started before and the rain made it worse." She said. "What we need to do now is keep her fever down and treat the pneumonia"

"Okay" Emily said.

"she's throwing up quite often and with that she's not keeping the medicine enough time in her stomach to be absorbed So she will need to get it through injections" doctor Sarah said and Emily just looked over at Bella while everyone looked at her. "She'll need one today and one tomorrow and on the next day. It's what we call a tri-penicillin treatment. I know it's a painful shot but she will need it in order to get better"

"Isn't there something else?" Emily asked.

"I'm sorry. But it's really the only option here. Her pneumonia is very advanced and she's throwing up. There's no way she'll be able to keep the medicine long enough." The doctor said.

"Alright" Emily said. "Let me just talk to her first" Emily said.

"Okay. And look I think it's best if you don't tell her right now she'll need it for 3 days. She'll get herself worked up. That's usually what happens" Doctor Sullivan said and Emily nodded yes. Nurse Maggie went to prepare the shot and Emily went to wake Bella to talk to her.


	42. Chapter 42: It's Bad

Nurse Maggie went to prepare the shot and Emily went to wake Bella to talk to her.

"Bella. Honey wake up" Emily whispered and the girl opened her eyes. "Hi" Emily gave Bella a little smile and the kid closed her eyes again. "Hey wake up. We gotta talk honey" she whispered and Bella woke up.

"What is it?" She asked still very sleepy.

"Remember the shot we talked about?" Emily asked and Bella just stared at her waiting for her to keep talking. "You are gonna need that. Okay?" Emily said soothing Bella's hair.

"The penicillin?" Bella said while tears filled up her eyes.

"Yeah" Emily said wiping a tear that was falling on Isabella's cheek.

"It's gonna hurt, isn't it?" Bella asked scared.

"I'm not gonna lie to you. It will hurt a little." Emily said. "But you'll need that in order to get better, okay?" she said calmly.

"Okay" Bella cried.

"Oh come here. I hold you " Emily said sitting on the bed and hugging Bella.

"Actually mom, wouldn't it be a little better if her uncle held her?" Nurse Maggie said. "He can give her a big hug and she can squeeze your hand" the nurse said and Emily nodded yes.

"Derek is gonna hold you okay?" Emily told Bella.

"Okay" the girl cried and let go of Emily. Derek sat on Bella's right side where Emily had sat.

"Alright so you hug him laying on this hand right here" the nurse said showing Bella how she should hug Derek and she hugged him.

"You're gonna be okay princess" Derek said soothing her hair.

Doctor Sarah was the one that was going to give her the shot. She pulled a bit of Isabella's shorts down to show her bum.

"Hold her tight" the doctor said without any sound coming out of her mouth. Derek and Emily nodded yes. The doctor rubbed alcohol and fanned with her hand for it to dry.

"Mom" Bella cried.

"It's okay honey. You're gonna be alright" Emily said holding Bella's hand.

"Alright. Do you want me to count?" The doctor asked.

"No" Bella cried.

"Okay" she said. She was about to do it when suddenly...

"Wait! Wait" Bella cried. "Just wait a little bit." And the doctor held the shot on her hand and said "honey we gotta do it now okay?"

"No. Please wait" she cried. "Just a little bit. Wait! Wait. Mom" she cried.

"Bella it's okay. Hey! they gotta do it now baby" Emily said.

"No. No please I don't want to" she cried. The doctor signed that she was going for it and Emily nodded a yes.

"Au" Bella cried when she felt the poke. She closed her eyes tight and buried her face in Derek's arm as the pain got worse and worse. She started crying but she was trying hard to fight her tears.

"Au that hurts too much" she cried.

"I know I'm sorry I'm so sorry honey" the doctor said and she tried to move a little but Derek, Maggie and Emily held her.

"Don't move Bella don't move" Doctor Sullivan said. "We are almost done here" she said reaching the middle of the shot.

"Ahhhhhh" Bella cried. "Stop it!" She begged.

"You're almost done" Emily said with tears in her eyes. Isabella kept crying till the doctor was done.

"All done sweetie. It's over" the doctor said putting a band-aid on it. Isabella didn't say anything she just cried. Derek pulled her up so she could lay down on his lap.

"It's gonna stop soon" Emily said.

"I've got you" Derek said and she cried and tightened her grip on his shirt.

"Mom" she cried.

"I'm right here" Emily said and touched Bella's head. The girl grabbed her mother's arm and pulled it do her neck. The doctor covered Bella up.

"It hurts" Isabella cried.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart. It's for your own good. I'm really sorry" doctor Sullivan said.

"It's okay" Bella cried whispering. The doctor smiled and everyone else in the room did the same.

"Try to go to sleep princess" Derek said and tightened his hug on the girl.

"Cover her ear" Emily said handing Derek Isabella's blanket.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Just cover her ear and be quiet" Emily said. "It calms her down. She'll listen to your heart better" she said very low so Bella wouldn't hear. It took about 14 minutes for Bella to cry herself to sleep.

The doctor went back to check on her and said that she had to be monitored so she would need to stay in the hospital for the night and depending on how things went she would be able to go home around lunch time.

"What about the other 2 shots?" Emily asked.

"Well we can do the second one tomorrow before she goes home and the third one you can either bring her here to do it or get someone to go over to your house. Any clinic does penicillin really. So you can do it what's best and easier" doctor Sullivan said.

"Alright" Emily said.

The doctor left and she sat on the chair close to the bed. Isabella was fast asleep in Derek's arms and Penelope was siting on the end of the bed. Emily turned the tv.

After about half an hour Derek put Bella down on the bed and changed places with Emily. Emily sat next to Bella and just stared at the sleeping girl who still had a sticky face from crying. Time went by and they watched tv and hang out all day, getting visits from JJ who brought some food for them and from the nurse and the doctor from time to time to check on the girl.

Isabella slept a long time and was waken up by Emily to eat dinner. It was 8:30.

"Hi" Emily said the second Bella opened her eyes.

"Hi" the girl whispered.

"We need you to eat something right now alright?" Emily said and Bella nodded yes and closed her eyes.

"Let's get the bed up" Emily said and pressed a button on the bed. Bella opened her eyes and made herself comfortable close to Emily.

"It's pumpkin soup. JJ made it" Emily said with a smile. She knew Bella liked pumpkin soup.

"I need to go to the bathroom" Isabella said low embarrassed.

"I'll take you" Derek said and went to pick her up.

"No. Mom" she said fast.

"Hey calm down kid. I'll just give you a ride there" he said and picked Bella up. Emily followed them and took the Iv pole and went in the bathroom with Bella. She peed and then they went out.

"Come here" Derek said.

"No. I can walk" Bella said and kept walking holding on to the Iv pole.

"You sure can" Derek said and walked behind her just in case she suddenly needed support. She started climbing in bed and Emily helped her. Isabella's bum was still hurting a bit. She laid down and Emily got the tray so she could eat. Bella had eaten half of it and watched some tv when suddenly...

"I don't feel very good" Bella said putting the spoon down on the tray.

"Do you think you'll throw up?" Emily asked concern and Derek was already ready holding a bucket.

"No" Bella said. "I'm dizzy" she said.

"It's from the medicine" Emily said knowing it was one of the side effects of the penicillin. "Try to focus on something" she said and Bella looked at a glass of water on her tray.

"It's not helping" she said with tears in her eyes. She just hated feeling sick.

"Just wait for it" Derek said and suddenly Bella looked up at Emily.

"Is it gone?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said as tears fell.

"Good" Emily said and kissed Bella's head. "Eat a little bit more" she said and Bella shook her head no and wiped her face. "Alright lay down and rest then" Emily said knowing that it was even a miracle that Bella accepted any food after throwing up. She laid the bed back down , took the tray away and Isabella laid down and Emily laid next to her. They snuggled and soon Bella was asleep.

"You guys should go home and get some sleep" Emily told Derek and Penelope around 11pm.

"I'm not leaving this room till she's leaving with me" Penelope said.

"Same" Derek said serious.

Emily knew that nothing she could do or say would make them leave. She was glad she had them there though.

She didn't want to have to deal with Bella and the shots on her own.

Seeing Bella cry in pain just made her feel horrible every time. 

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 **(Sunday)**

At 3:47am Penelope was passed out on the couch and Emily on the bed next to Bella. Derek was awake watching tv.

Isabella woke up from a nightmare and looked at him.

"Hey" he said. "How are you feeling?" He asked noticing she looked scared.

"Not good" Bella whispered as tears filled her eyes.

"Do you want to sit with me?" He asked and she nodded yes as tears started falling.

"Come here. I know it's all a lot" he said and picked her up.

Emily woke up.

"What happened?" She asked concern at why Derek took Bella out of the bed, and why the girl was crying.

He sat on the chair next to the bed and sat the crying girl on his lap.

"It's okay. She just wants to hang out with her man Derek here" he said smiling and hugging the girl.

"She does?" Emily smiled.

"Yeah" he said.

Emily dubbed a thank you and gave him Isabella's blanket. Bella hugged it and soon fell back asleep.

.

Around 6 Derek placed her back on the bed and went out to talk to Hotch.

She slept till 9 when Emily woke her up for breakfast.

"Hi baby" Emily said the moment Bella opened her eyes. "Good morning"

"Good morning mom" Bella whispered.

"Look what they got you for breakfast" Emily said pressing the button to get the bed up a little bit.

"Hi" Bella told Penelope.

"Good morning sugarplum" Penelope said walking to the bed all perky and kissing Bella's cheek.

"Do you think you can eat this waffle for me?" Emily said.

"Yes" Bella said and Emily smiled and kissed her head.

Derek walked in.

"Good morning" Bella said grabbing the fork.

"Good morning kid" he smiled.

Bella ate almost half of it and then said she was nauseous. She laid back down and tried not to think about it so she tried watching some tv. Emily sat on the couch to have some coffee and Penelope headed out to buy some breakfast food for them. Emily was almost finished with her coffee when Bella cried "mom!" She said and when she saw Derek was already holding the bucket in front of her. She threw up and cried.

"Please make this stop" she cried as the doctor ran in to help. She threw up a lot. People were helping her up and holding her head. Nurse Maggie walked in and helped Bella wash her mouth.

Once done the girl laid back down crying.

"I need check your tummy, okay sweetheart?" Doctor Sullivan said and Bella nodded yes. She checked Isabella's belly and then her heart and lungs.

"Throwing up is normal with this and it will stop soon." She told Bella. "And even with all the vomiting, there are some improvements so she might go home today, but she'll need to make an effort to eat. I need a blood test to check her levels again" the doctor said to Emily and Maggie.

"I'll be back to check on you soon alright?" She told Bella, who just ignored, and then she walked out.

"Alright. So Bella. Can we do this? Really quick and easy like last time?" Maggie asked and Bella ignored and stared at Emily.

Emily grabbed her hand and Bella squeezed it.

The nurse took some blood and Bella couldn't help but cry. She let some tears fall without making a sound. She was just sick of all of it. When Maggie was done Bella just hugged Emily and tried to hide her face. After calming down she said "I shouldn't have ran away."

"Look what I did to myself" she whispered.

"Oh honey no" Emily said. "You're were probably sick before baby. This is not your fault"

"Yes it is mom" Bella cried and hugged Emily tight.

"It's not. I promise you it's not. The doctor said you were sick before. It just might have gotten worse with the rain." Emily said running her hand on Bella's back.

"I'm sorry mom" Bella cried and Emily just held her not exactly sure how to deal with it all.

"Sorry for what princess?" Derek asked.

"All of this" she said.

"Don't apologize" Emily said serious. "Everything is gonna be okay" she said and laid down and snuggled with Bella. "You're gonna be okay" Emily said and hugged Bella tight till she fell asleep.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked Emily.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"Do I have to pretend I believe you?" Derek asked.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Come on Em. I know you and Bella enough to know both are stubborn as hell" he said.

"I just don't know Unm I don't really know what to do." Emily said.

"No parent does Em." Derek said.

"John did" she said. "I just feel like I'm screwing her up. I don't know"

"You're doing just fine. You're an amazing mom" Derek said.

"Yeah. She loves you you know that?" Penelope said smiling and Emily soothed Bella's hair and smiled.

"I hope someday I'll have someone that looks at me the way she looks at you" Penelope said with a smile and teary eyes. "It's like you're everything to her" she said.

Derek and Emily smiled.

"She's everything to me" Emily said. "I just wish I could make everything better you know" she said.

"She'll get there mama" Penelope said.

They were interrupted by JJ and Chloe.

"Hi" JJ said. "Someone here was dying to see her friend" she said and Chloe smiled shyly.

"Hello you other little thingy" Penelope said running and hugging the girl and everyone laughed.

"How is she doing?" JJ asked getting close to the bed and looking at the sleeping girl laying there.

"The doctor said she seems better and she just did another blood test so we're waiting to see if she can go home today" Emily said.

"Good" JJ said and thought it was weird that no one was really happy with that. "What's wrong guys?" She asked.

"She has to do that tri-penicillin treatment" Derek said.

"Oh no" Chloe said. "That hurts so bad"

"Yeah. She already took one" Penelope said. "And she needs one today and another one tomorrow"

"Oh Bella" JJ said walking close to the bed and soothing Bella's hair.

"She's tough" Derek said. "She'll be fine"

"She won't be fine" Chloe said serious. "At least not now"

Emily couldn't agree more.

They talked a bit more and Chloe hung out with Penelope waiting for Bella to wake up. After a while the doctor said Bella was clear to go home after she had the injection so Emily decided to give her a shower before and the doctor said it was okay. She knew that Bella wouldn't want to do anything after getting the shot. Emily woke Bella up and she was happy to see Chloe.

"Hi" Chloe smiled and went to hug Bella.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked letting go of the hug.

"You didn't think I was gonna let you stay here and bore to death" Chloe said smiling and Bella let out a little laugh and then started coughing.

Nurse Maggie walked in. "So how's the little one doing?" She asked.

"Fine I guess" Bella said.

"Do you want to shower before heading home?" Emily asked smiling.

"I'm going home?" Bella asked and her eyes filled with tears.

"Yes" Emily said and hugged Bella.

"Let me help you" Derek said and picked her up and carried her to the bathroom while Maggie walked behind pushing the Iv pole.

"Garcia? Can you help me out?" Emily asked walking behind Derek and Maggie.

"I sure can" Penelope said all perky and walked behind them.

Derek sat Bella down on the closed toilet while Emily turned the shower on to heat it up.

"Anything I'm right behind this door" Derek said and closed the door.

"Do you guys got her or do you need any help?" Nurse Maggie asked.

"It's alright we've got it" Emily said.

"Okay. Anything just press the button on her bed and a nurse will come" Maggie said.

"Okay. Thank you" Emily said and Maggie went out and closed the door.

"Is it okay if I'm here pumpkin?" Penelope asked and Bella nodded yes embarrassed. Penelope went and gave the girl a hug. "I love you munchkin" she said still hugging Bella.

"I love you too" Bella smiled and Penelope gave her a kiss on the head.

"Alright let's clean you up, you stinky bones" Penelope said.

"I don't stink" Bella said and Emily and Penelope laughed.

"Yeah you're right. you don't" Penelope smiled.

"Come on" Emily said and helped Bella up. She undressed her and Bella went in the shower. Emily and Penelope couldn't help but feel bad as they saw the purple bruise on the child's bum. Emily helped Bella shower while Penelope just stayed there just in case. The girl was a little embarrassed but she didn't really mind too much.

After they were done Bella put on jeans shorts and a shirt JJ had brought for her and Penelope combed her hair. Once they were done Emily opened the door and helped Bella get back to the bed. She laid down and said "can we go home now?"

"Just a little longer okay?" Emily said and ran her hand on the girl's cheek.

Bella felt a bit better after showering but she felt really tired still so she just laid there and watched some tv.

After about half an hour it was a little over 1:30 pm, The doctor walked in and said "Miss Prentiss can I talk to you outside please?"

"Of course" Emily said and walked out. Derek sat on the bed next to Bella and the girl moved close to him and griped his shirt.

He could noticed her red cheeks, probably from a fever. 

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"Well. I'm going to remove her Iv and then we can do the next shot alright?" Doctor Sullivan said and Emily nodded yes.

"After she takes it you can take her straight home. She might have a fever and if she does you can give her oral ibuprofen and if she throws up or the fever doesn't go down you give her an injection in the leg. It's very easy to apply and they do it in pharmacies. You can just call and they'll send someone to your house if you don't have anyone to do it" the doctor said.

"Okay" Emily said.

"This is her prescription for the penicillin shot tomorrow and vitamin C which she'll take every day. There's also the ibuprofen in there for both oral and the injection. My number is in there too so anything just call"

"Alright. Thank you very much" Emily said and gave the doctor a thankful smile.

"Alright. So you're ready?" The doctor asked knowing things like that were hard for mothers too.

"Sure" Emily said making a face and they walked back in.

"Bella?" Emily said walking to the girl who was almost asleep hugging Derek.

"They'll take your Iv off okay?" Emily said and the girl nodded yes.

The doctor removed the Iv and placed a bandaid on the girls hand. Bella kept hugging Derek and the doctor gave Emily a look as if to tell Bella it was time for the shot.

"There's something else honey" Emily said not knowing exactly how to explain to the girl.

"What?" Isabella asked and her eyes filled with water at the exact time she saw Maggie walking in with a little tray on her hand just like before. "Mom?" She cried and let go of Derek and tried to reach Emily over him.

"You're gonna be alright" Emily said hugging Bella. "They'll do it fast baby" she said and Bella let go of her.

"No. No! I don't want another time" Isabella cried trying to turn her bum to the bed so nobody would get near it but Derek was already holding her. "No. Let me go. No!" She started screaming.

"We gotta do this sweetheart" the doctor said.

"No! No! I don't want to I don't want to" Bella screamed.

"Calm down. You're gonna be okay" Derek said.

At that time Penelope, Chloe and JJ were crying.

"Derek have you got her?" The doctor asked.

"Yes" he answered.

"Alright" the doctor said and went to unbutton Bella's shorts. The girl started moving a lot and fighting to get herself out of Derek's arms, she kept saying for them to stop and not do it. The doctor unbuttoned her shorts and Derek held her tight.

"No! Mommy no! I don't want this. I'm fine. No" she cried and fought.

Maggie held her legs but Bella was moving to much. Emily went to help.

"Just do this as fast as you can" Derek said, he was already sweating.

The doctor pulled her shorts and panties down and cleaned with alcohol. She screamed "no" so loud, and tried to move. Derek was holding her really tight and she kept telling him to let her go. The doctor gave her the shot and she screamed and cried so much. Emily didn't even noticed she was crying too, together with JJ, Maggie. Penelope had taken Chloe out of the room but they were crying too.

When the doctor was done she put a Band-Aid on it and pulled her shorts up.

"I'm so sorry kiddo" the doctor said. "You're good to go home now" she said running her hand on Isabella's back who just kept crying as Derek got off the bed and picked her up. She hid her face in his neck and just cried. Emily grabbed Isabella's blanket and wiped her face.

"Anything just call" doctor Sullivan said.

"Okay. Thank you. And I'm sorry for all the screaming" Emily said.

Isabella tighten her grip on Derek, feeling bad for screaming so much, but she was just so scared and it hurt so bad.

"Oh no it's alright. She kind of had the right to. It really hurts and she actually did very good" Doctor Sullivan said smiling.

"You were very brave sweetheart" she told Bella. "You did very good"

"I wanna go home" Bella cried and started coughing.

"Alright. You take her home Mom. And make sure she eats healthy and get lots of rest okay?" Doctor Sullivan said running her hand on the girls back.

"Okay. Bye" Emily said.

"Bye" Sarah and Maggie said in unison and they left and walked to the car.

Derek went on the back with Bella since she wouldn't let go of him and she was crying so much, Penelope went on the back with them while Emily drove. JJ and Chloe went to JJ's car.

They all drove to Emily's house.

Emily handed Derek Isabella's blanket and before he could get it Isabella grabbed it and held it close to her face. Isabella was so tired and sweaty and she had been crying so much that it didn't take her long to sleep.

When they got to the apartment Derek carried the sleeping girl in his arms inside.

"Where should I put her?" He asked Emily.

"My bedroom is fine" Emily said and he went up with Bella.

Emily told everyone to make themselves at home and she would go up to make sure Bella was alright. 

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Upstairs Derek placed Bella down on the bed and the girl laid on her tummy. Emily covered Her up. Bella was so exhausted that she didn't even woke up. She moved a little because of the pain and snuggled her blanket but stayed asleep.

"Hey. Go eat Em. I'll watch her" Derek said.

"Thank you but it's okay. I got it" she said.

"Stop being stubborn. Just go eat" he said.

"Are you sure this is okay?" She said concern.

"If she wakes up I'll get you" he said. "Don't worry"

Emily said "okay" and went downstairs.

.

They ordered food and ate, then Penelope wanted to cook something for Bella to eat at dinner later at night so no one would have to worry about that. So Penelope started and Emily went to help.

"Hey. Do you want to trade that baby upstairs with me ?" Penelope said and Emily just stared at her. "Come on, go be with her. We've got everything under control here" Penelope said.

"Okay." Emily said and walked upstairs. She got to the room and Bella was sleeping in the exact same position from when Emily had left a little over an hour before.

She told Derek to go eat and thanked him for helping with Bella.

"Anytime Emily. Really" he said serious. He really did love that kid.

He went down and Emily sat on the bed next to Bella. She picked her book in the nightstand and began reading it.

After about 20 minutes Chloe appeared at the door.

"Hi" Emily said.

"Can I stay here with you?" She shyly asked.

"Of course. Come on in" Emily said. Chloe walked in and sat on the other side of the bed since Bella was sleeping in a weird position in the middle of the bed. Emily kept reading her book but could see the young girl stare at Bella.

"Hey. She's gonna be okay" Emily told Chloe.

"I thought she would never stop crying" Chloe said really down.

"But she did." Emily said. "Chloe, she's going to be okay"

"I know. But I just..." She said but didn't finish.

"You just what?" Emily asked.

"I don't want her to do it again tomorrow" she said and her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh sweetheart don't cry" Emily said and grabbed the blonde girl's hand.

"It hurts so bad Emily. I got just one last year and I couldn't even walk afterwards because it was hurting so much. I don't want her to feel that" Chloe said almost whispering.

"I know it hurts. I've had it before too." Emily said. "It hurts a lot but tomorrow will be her last one and that's it. I'm probably not letting her get that shot ever again" Emily said.

"It's just that she was already so down and hurt about her dad and now this you know" Chloe said.

"I know" Emily said and they were cut off by Penelope.

"Hi" Penelope smiled. "There's a gentleman here to see our younger Prentiss" she said and Gavin appeared on the door.

"Come on in Gavin" Emily said.

"Hi" the boy whispered so Bella wouldn't wake up.

"Hi" Chloe said smiling.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She's going to be okay" Emily said with a little smile.

"Is she in pain?" He asked concern.

"A little bit right now. She got a shot before we came back" Emily said.

"But she will be just fine. She's a champ" Penelope said smiling at the boy.

"Yeah. She's really a champ" Gavin agreed and they all smiled.

Suddenly JJ walked in.

"Em, Hotch's on the phone for you" she said and Emily stood up.

"Can you two watch her?" She asked Chloe and Gavin.

"Yes, sure" Gavin said.

"Okay. Anything scream my name name and I'll be here in a sec" she said.

"I wouldn't doubt that" Chloe said smiling. They all smiled and Emily left and Penelope followed her.

Gavin sat on the floor next to the bed and Chloe walked over there and sat next to him and they started talking about what exactly had happened since the day she lied about going home after school. 

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Downstairs Emily had been sitting in the dinning room on the phone with Hotch for almost 10 minutes talking about what was going on with Bella and about the murder of the teenager she heard. Hotch told her they had found a male victim in a hospital pretty hurt in the ICU and they were waiting for the man to go to a room so they could talk to him.

After talking a bit more he said he would stop by later and then they hung up.

Emily walked to the living room and sat with Penelope, JJ and Derek, to watch a movie. 

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Around 3 Isabella started coughing. She woke up and found 4 wondering eyes staring at her.

"What are you two doing here?" She whispered to Gavin and Chloe, but before they could answer she asked still sleepy "Where's my mom?".

"She's downstairs with everyone else" Gavin said.

"Do you want me to get her?" Chloe asked.

"No" Bella said and coughed a little. "Can you just Unm... Put a movie on" Isabella said.

"Sure" Chloe said. "What do you wanna watch?" She asked grabbing the dvd holder from above the dvd.

"I don't care" Bella said.

"Okay" Chloe said and started going through the DVDs. There was a lot of French films and animations. "Can we watch 101 Dalmatians?" She asked.

"Sure" Bella said with a little smile.

"You're smiling!" Gavin said and sat on the bed. Bella just stared at him. He realized she was really not doing very well. "Are you in too much pain?" He asked concerned and with a scared face.

"Not to much anymore but it hurts still" Bella said.

"Chloe said they gave you penicillin" he said.

"Yeah" Bella said with tears in her eyes. He laid on the bed next to her and hugged her.

"You're gonna be okay Bella. You'll see. You're gonna be as good as new" he said smiling and Bella just stayed quiet.

Chloe pressed play and the film started, she walked over and sat on the bed next to Bella, who had let go of Gavin and was staring at the tv.

13 minutes in and Bella was already out.

"She feel asleep" Gavin said.

"Just thinking about that shot I feel like crying" Chloe said.

"You've got it before?" Gavin asked.

"Yeah. Last year" Chloe said.

"I've got it 4 times, all before I was 8. Luckily I didn't get sick after that" Gavin said.

"Wow " Chloe said.

"Those are just awful" he said.

"Yeah" Chloe said.

"She's so little" Gavin said covering Bella up a bit more. Chloe just looked at him. She saw on that moment she could always count on him and she was glad that Bella and Gavin were her friends.

"Doesn't she sleeps with a dog or something?" Gavin asked.

"I'll go get it" Chloe said and ran off to Isabella's room. She got tramp and ran back to Emily's. She threw the dog to Gavin who put it close to Bella. The girl just grabbed it and hugged it together with her blanket.

Gavin and Chloe laughed and didn't even noticed Emily standing in the door.

"What are you two doing?" She asked smiling and confused.

"We thought she might wanted the dog. She sleeps with him right?" Gavin said.

"Just sometimes" Emily said smiling and the two kids smiled back. "She's very lucky to have you guys" Emily said. "She really is"

"We are the lucky ones to have her" Gavin said smiling and Emily smiled back at him.

"Well Chloe your mom is downstairs, she wants to talk to you." Emily said and Chloe went downstairs with her and Gavin stayed watching the movie sitting on the bed next to Bella, who moved around the bed a little trying to find a comfortable position every time she coughed.

.

Downstairs When Chloe and Emily got there Hilary was waiting for them.

Emily had told Hilary before that if Chloe wanted to stay that was okay. But Hilary thought both Prentiss's could use a little space.

"I think she would like to hang out with me when she's awake mom" Chloe said.

"Well, her brother should get here soon and I'm sure she would like you to meet him" Emily said.

"Really? He's coming?" Chloe asked surprised.

"Yeah." Emily smiled.

"Are you sure this won't be a problem?" Hilary asked.

"No. No. Bella will love having Chloe here" Emily said smiling.

"Alright then" Hilary said and Chloe hugged her.

"Thanks mom" Chloe said and the buzzer rang.

"I'll get it." Penelope said.

"What time are you coming home?" Hilary asked and Chloe looked at Emily.

"How about 8:30 or 9?" Emily said not paying attention to Penelope and the intercom.

"Okay" Hilary said. "No later then 9"

"Okay" Chloe said.

"Don't get in any trouble, okay?" Hilary said.

"I won't mom" Chloe said and hugged Hilary.

"And Emily. Anything send her down" Hilary said.

"Okay" Emily smiled and Chloe stood next to her.

"And if you need anything I'm right down too" Hilary said fast and smiling

"Thank you" Emily said and walked to the door with Hilary. When she opened the door Jeremy and Marley was about to ring the bell.

"Hi" Emily said surprised.

"Hi" Marley said and hugged Emily.

"How are you doing?" Emily asked her.

"Everything is fine. Very busy with work though" Marley said.

"Hey" Jeremy said and hugged Emily too.

"Come on in" she said and they walked in and Hilary walked out.

"Bye. Anything just call" Hilary said and Emily and Chloe said "Bye" in unison.

"Well, this is Chloe. Bella's friend" Emily introduced.

"Hi. I've heard wonderful things about you" Marley said and Jeremy smiled.

Emily noticed his worried eyes.

"And where is the little one?" Jeremy asked.

"She's upstairs sleeping" Emily said. She had told Derek Shepherd, Isabella's godfather, what had happened and he of course told Jeremy who decided to go check on his sister.

"Come on up" Emily said walking to the stairs and Jeremy and Marley followed her, Chloe went to sit with JJ on the couch and Jeremy waved at all the people in the living room and went up.

When they got to the bedroom Isabella was laying on her tummy passed out and Gavin was sitting watching the movie.

"Hi" he said recognizing Jeremy and Marley from pictures Bella had shown him.

"You must be Gavin" Jeremy said with a smile.

"Yup" Gavin said standing up.

"So how long has she been asleep for?" Jeremy asked.

"She's been in and out. But she slept for a pretty long time" Gavin said.

"I was planning on waking her up at 5:30 so she could hang out with us a little and then have dinner" Emily said. "You can wake her now if you want. I'm sure she'll love to see you" she said and they smiled.

Jeremy walked closer to the bed and he noticed Isabella's back was a bit red, right above the place where she took the last shot.

"She's having a little reaction here. Did she fight not to take it?" He asked.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"She probably didn't relax then" Marley said. "Is it red?" She asked.

"Yeah a little" Jeremy said and he pulled it down a little so he could see and it was a lot more reed closer to the band-aid.

The moment he started pulling it down Bella moved and pushed his hands away, she was sleepy and thought they were going to give her another shot. She mumbled something and turned around. When she turned she only saw Emily who was sitting in the bed and she hugged her mother and hid her face.

"Hey. Look who is here" Emily said. "You've got special visitors" she said and Bella looked up.

"Jeremy?" She asked still a bit sleepy.

"Hi" Jeremy said and sat on the bed. "Come here" he said and Bella sat on his lap and hugged him.

"I missed you" he said holding his tears.

"I missed you too" Isabella said without a single tear on her eyes.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

"I'm feeling a bit better then yesterday" she said.

"That's good" Jeremy said. "That's really good" he said tightening the hug. Everyone in the room was smiling.

"Well do you wanna go down with me? We can watch a movie" Jeremy said.

"No." Bella answered letting go of the hug and sitting back on the bed.

Emily noticed the girl didn't look very excited about her brother being there.

"You don't?" Emily asked.

"I want to sleep a little more" Bella said laying back down with her head on Emily's lap.

"Alright." Emily said. She wasn't going to force the sick child to sit in a living room full of people.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Jeremy asked.

"No. I want mom" Bella said and hugged Emily.

"Of course she does" Jeremy said. "We'll be downstairs then" he said and she didn't do anything, she just kept hugging Emily. Emily dubbed a sorry and everyone went downstairs but Gavin.

.

"How is she?" Derek Morgan asked when Jeremy and Marley appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"She wants to sleep" Marley said.

"Are you okay man?" Derek asked noticing Jeremy was weird.

"Yeah yeah. I'm alright" Jeremy answered. "Do you know where I can get a good coffee around here?" He asked.

"I can take you if you want." Penelope said.

"Sure" he said.

"Does anyone want anything?" Penelope asked.

"I'll get a espresso please" Derek said.

"JJ?" Penelope asked.

"I don't want anything, thank you" JJ said.

"Chloe?" Penelope asked and the girl shook her head no and went upstairs. Penelope left with Marley and Jeremy. 

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Upstairs Chloe walked in to find Bella almost asleep hugging Emily and Gavin watching "Two Days One Night" a French movie Emily had.

Emily made a quiet sign and Chloe walked in and sat on the other side next to Gavin.

Once Bella was asleep Emily said "guys! Watch her for me? I'm gonna go talk to her brother" and the kids nodded yes and she left.

.

When she got downstairs, Penelope, Jeremy and Marley walked in with coffee.

"Hey. I got you a tea" Penelope told Emily. "You can't have coffee now you need to sleep" she said and Emily smiled and said "thank you"

They walked to the couch and sat to talk.

"So how exactly did she get sick Emily? Because Shepherd didn't explain everything to me" Jeremy said and Emily froze.

"Unm" Emily said thinking hard about how she would explain it all to him. "She was a bit sick and she was having a hard time with what happened to your dad and everything. She wanted to go to Seattle but she got lost and there was a crazy storm that day so she got worse" Emily said.

"So she really ran away? I thought Shepherd was joking" Jeremy said.

"She ran away and then she wanted to come back but she got lost" Derek said.

"What if something worse had happened to her?" Jeremy asked and stood up. "She was all alone lost in fucking Washington, D.C. out in a crazy weather. And where were you? Where were any of you? How did she even managed to run away?" He asked his voice going up.

Upstairs Chloe ran and closed the door so Bella wouldn't hear and wake up.

"Jeremy! calm down" Marley said and he sat back down.

"Jeremy I know you're worried and I get that but she'll be fine" Emily said. "She needed time to process everything and I'm sure she did. She's just sick now but she'll be okay" she said.

"Let's hope so" Jeremy said serious. "I need some air" he said standing up and walking to the door. Marley dubbed a sorry and followed him.

"What the heck was that?" JJ asked.

"He is definitely upset" Penelope said.

"She will be fine" Emily said serious sort of telling that to herself.

"She will Em" JJ said. 

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Jeremy walked out of the building and sat in one of the steps and Marley sat with him.

"What happened there Jeremy?" Marley asked.

"They didn't even know where she was. How is she taking care of Bella , Marley?" He said. "Emily is not even home with her ..how does she even..." he said.

"Jeremy, Bella is fine. She's just a bit sick now but she'll be okay. You don't need to worry like this love" Marley said.

"I told my dad this wouldn't work. Bella should have stayed with us." Jeremy said and stood up and started walking to his car.

"Where are you going?" Marley asked.

"To the hotel. I need to get some things. I'm staying here tonight" he said.

"What? You didn't even ask anybody" Marley said.

"I'm sure Bella will like that" he said. "She used to go to my bed whenever she wasn't feeling so good" he said and got in the car. Marley got in it too and they left. 

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Back in the house Emily went up to check on Bella.

The girl was still asleep. Emily checked her fever and it was okay so she went back and sat in the living room.

After a while JJ headed home, and shortly after Derek left. Emily told Penelope to go home and have some rest but the blonde refused.

It was almost 8:40 when Gavin headed home and Chloe went too.

Bella woke up around 9 and found Penelope sleeping next to her. She slowly got out of the bed and when she was almost at the door Penelope woke up.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Penelope asked sitting on the bed.

"Find my mom" Bella said. Penelope smiled and walked to the girl.

"Let me help you down, pumpkin" Penelope said and held Bella's hand. They headed downstairs and found Emily sitting alone in the living room.

"Hi" Emily smiled seeing the girl. Bella walked to her and sat on her lap and hugged her.

"Where's Jeremy?" She asked.

"He went out for a little while" Emily said and her phone started ringing. "Speaking of him" she said seeing his name on the phone.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hi. Unm is it alright if I stay over with Bella tonight?" He asked. Marley made him call to see if it was okay.

"Sure" Emily said.

"Okay. I'll be there soon" he said and hung up. Emily thought he was acting very weird. She placed the phone down and hugged Bella again.

"What did he want?" Bella asked.

"He's staying over tonight" Emily said and Bella didn't say anything.

"Well you young lady needs to eat something" Emily said. "Penelope cooked you dinner"

"She did?" Bella asked.

"Yup. And you must eat it" Penelope said pronouncing every word.

"Sure" Bella said and laid her head on Emily's chest.

"Okay" Penelope said happy. "I'll heat it up" she said and walked to the kitchen. While Penelope heat the food, Isabella just stayed quiet with Emily.

"There you go" Penelope said handing over a plate with chicken and mashed potatoes. Isabella sat next to Emily and started eating.

The girl ate a little but started feeling sick so she said she was done. Penelope looked at Emily and Emily nodded yes so Penelope took the plate back to the kitchen.

"Mom?" Bella said snuggling Emily. "Can I go back up?" She asked.

"Of course" Emily said. "Come here I'll help you up" She said standing up and picking the girl up.

When they got to the bedroom Bella laid in bed and covered herself up.

"Are you feeling alright?" Emily asked.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"You're gonna be okay" Emily smiled.

"I know" Bella said giving Emily a little smile.

"Can you stay here?" Bella asked shyly and Emily sat next to her.

"Lay here" Emily said signing her lap. Isabella laid her head on her mother's lap and Emily began soothing the young girl's hair.

After a while Penelope showed up.

"Can we watch a movie?" She asked.

"Sure. Feel free to pick" Emily said. Penelope turned the tv on and 'Two Day One Night' started playing.

"Is this one good?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Oh Bella anything with Marion Cotillard you think is incredible" Emily smiled.

"Well she is incredible mom" Bella said and then coughed.

"Okay so let's watch this one then " Penelope said and restarted the film and sat on the bed next to Bella, who was now in the middle.

30 minutes into the film Isabella was out. Emily and Penelope finished watching then they went downstairs to eat dinner.

In the middle of the dinner Jeremy got back. He sat with them and ate.

Around 11 Emily went to check on Bella who woke up so she stayed there with the girl watching tv.

It was almost midnight when Jeremy went up. He went to Emily's bedroom.

"Hey" he told Bella.

"Hi" she said.

"I was wondering if you wanted to share your bed with me tonight? Like old times" he said and Bella took some time to think and shook her head no.

"Are you sure?" He asked hopeful.

"I want my mom" Bella said turning to hug Emily.

"Okay then." He said. "Goodnight" he waited for her to say goodnight but Bella didn't make a sound so he went to her room to sleep.

"Hey. What's going on honey?" Emily asked the girl who didn't move an inch or said anything. "Bella. What happened?" She asked again and the girl looked up.

"Nothing. I just wanna sleep here with you" Isabella said.

"Bella can I ask you something?" Emily asked serious and Bella nodded yes. "If Penelope had come and asked you to sleep in your room with her would you have gone?" She asked and Bella just stayed quiet and looked a bit embarrassed. "You would have wouldn't you?" Emily said realizing the girl actually would.

Isabella hugged Emily, hiding her face.

"Honey. What's going on with you and him?" Emily asked.

"I just don't trust him mom" Bella said.

"Bella he lied to you the same way I did. And you still trust me right?" Emily asked.

"Mom, I trust you more then anybody but with him it's just..." Bella said. "I don't know it's like he's watching every move I make and I don't know" Bella said. "It's like he's watching us"

"He worries about you honey. That's all" Emily said.

"He can't take me away from you can he?" Isabella asked. She really felt like he wanted to do that. He was always texting her asking how things were with Emily and stuff like that.

"No one is ever taking you away" Emily said looking straight at Bella's eyes. "Okay?" She said.

"Okay" the girl said and hugged her mother.

Suddenly Penelope appeared.

"Where should I sleep?" She asked.

"Here with me" Isabella said staring at the woman but still hugging her mother.

Emily smiled and Penelope laid next to Bella.

"Alright. so you try to get some sleep with you aunt Penelope and I'm gonna shower okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and hugged Penelope. Emily went to shower and when she got back the two were sleeping hugging each other. She laid next to them and held Bella's hand.

She was happy her baby was back home. She stared at the sleeping child till her eyes closed and she fell asleep. 

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 **(Monday)**

It was 3:24 when Isabella jumped up on the bed with tears falling. Emily and Penelope woke up.

"Honey what happened?" Emily asked. Isabella stared at her mother's eyes and shoved her had on Emily's lap and bursted into tears.

"Oh honey" Emily said. "It was just a bad dream. Come here, lay down" she said and the girl laid next to her and hugged her. Shortly after they fell back asleep.

But the sleep lasted little because at 5, once again the young girl woke up from a nightmare.

She was close to Emily when her eyes opened wide and a scream came out. Emily quickly hugged the child.

"You're okay. It's not real. You're fine" Emily said hugging the girl.

"What happened?" Jeremy asked at the door. He also had been awake by the girl's scream.

"Just a nightmare Jeremy" Emily said. "She's okay"

"Bella do you want to lay down with me?" Ha asked.

"No" Bella cried even more.

"Hey! Bella. It's okay honey" Emily said. "It was just a nightmare. Calm down" she said running her hand on the child's back. "Calm down. Let's try to sleep some more" she said hugging the girl tighter.

Jeremy started at them from the door.

"Anything just go get me" he told them.

"Okay" Penelope said while Emily just tried to calm the child.

Isabella cried herself to sleep and then Emily and Penelope slept too.


	43. Chapter 43: Oh Brother

It was 7:48 when Penelope woke up again.

Isabella was snuggling Emily who was fast asleep.

She got out of the bed and headed to the kitchen. She made coffee and then decided to make pancakes. She knew Isabella liked that and the girl could use a nice healthy breakfast. She had just begun cooking when Jeremy went down.

"Good morning" he said.

"Hi. Good morning" Penelope said.

"How is she?" He asked.

"Asleep. She's alright you know" Penelope told him.

"I don't think she's actually okay" he said. "I think this is all too much for her" he said and poured himself some coffee.

"What do you mean?" Penelope asked.

"I don't know" he said.

"Unm. Do you guys work today?" He asked changing the subject.

"Nop. Hotch gave everyone a day off" she smiled.

"Oh so you're all going back to work tomorrow?" He asked.

"I don't think Emily is going, if that's what you're asking" Penelope said. "I don't think she'll leave that baby alone for a very long time" she said.

"Good" he said serious.

Suddenly Emily appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Penelope? What are you doing?" Emily asked.

"Pancakes for my buttercup" Penelope smiled putting the last pancakes in the huge pile. Emily smiled.

"Is she awake?" Penelope asked.

"Not quite" Emily said.

Isabella woke up when Emily got out of the bed, Emily asked if she wanted to go down but she said she wanted to sleep more, so Emily kissed her and left.

"Well, Can I take some up to her?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course" Emily said heading to pour herself some coffee. While her back was turned to the island she didn't see the amount of food he was putting on the plate. When she turned she was surprised.

"Jeremy she's not going to eat all of that. That's too much food" Emily said staring at the plate with 4 pancakes, strawberries and blueberries.

"Em she can easily eat this" he said.

"She's not going to Jeremy" Emily said.

"She needs to eat. okay? I've never seen her so boney in my entire life" he said.

"She hasn't been eating well but I'm not forcing food down her throat right now" Emily said serious and he just stared at her. "Take just two pancakes and it's fine. If she wants more she'll ask" she said.

"Are you serious? At home she would eat at least 4 and now you want to give her two?" He said sounding pissed.

"Jeremy, at home she had her father with her didn't she?" Emily said serious.

"Yes but here she has us now but apparently you're not doing anything" he said pissed.

"I'm not forcing her to eat. And that's it. You're not doing that either" Emily said pissed too.

"Who do you think you are ? Not letting me give her food, are you fucking serious?" He said loud.

"I am her mother." Emily said mad grabbing the plate and taking 2 pancakes off. "I'm gonna take these for her. If she wants more I'll come and get it." She said and headed to the stairs.

Jeremy just stayed there looking pissed.

Emily went up and Bella was awake. She had been listening to them.

"Good morning" Emily said and the girl just stared at her. "Are you alright?" Emily asked confused, she didn't think the girl could have heard them.

"Yeah" Bella said not wanting to talk about what she heard.

"I've got you breakfast" Emily smiled and walked to the bed. "Penelope made it" Emily smiled sitting next to Bella. She gave the girl the plate and Isabella ate everything.

"Do you want some more?" Emily asked.

"No. I'm full" Bella said and laid down again.

"Okay. Unm do you have any requests for lunch?" Emily asked.

"Pasta?" Bella smiled shyly.

"Pasta it is" Emily said and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back" she said and headed downstairs.

"Did she eat?" Penelope asked excited.

"Yes." Emily smiled. "And she wants pasta for lunch"

"Can I make spaghetti with meat balls?" Penelope asked.

"Sure" Emily laughed at the excitement of her friend.

"I'm gonna go talk to her okay? If that's not against the rules here." Jeremy said serious.

"Go on" Emily said and he went upstairs.

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Jeremy walked into the room to find Isabella buried in blankets reading a book.

"Hey" he said.

"Hi" she shyly said not looking away from the book.

"Can we talk a little bit?" He asked her and sat on the bed.

Isabella closed the book and put it down at the nightstand. She sat up straight on the bed and stared at her brother waiting for him to talk.

"So I was wondering how things are going here." He said. "I can see you like everybody and you've made friends but how is everything here?" He said.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"I mean the city and the apartment, things like that. Do you like it?" He said.

"Yeah." Isabella said. "The city is really cool, there's a bunch of things to do" she said.

"Yeah? And what do you like to do here?" He asked.

"Unm. I like to go to the park. I went to the mall with Chloe and it was really fun." She smiled. "There's a pool area here and we've been there too and it's really cool." Bella said.

"And what about with Emily? What do you do with her?" He asked and Bella tensed.

"Unm. We hang out a lot." Bella said.

"Hang out doing what?" He asked and he could see she was a bit uncomfortable.

"Unm... We go to the park sometimes, and go out to eat and watch movies and things like that" Bella said. "Just like it used to be with dad I guess" she said.

"Yeah?" He asked and she embarrassingly nodded yes.

"So if you like it here, why did you run away Bella? I tried understanding that but " he said and she looked away. "Why did you run away?" He asked.

"I just miss dad. And I guess I thought I would feel better back at home" Isabella said. "I thought going there would make it stop... I don't know...But then I realized that wasn't my home anymore" she said.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy said a bit confused.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"Look. If you want I can take you home with me. You don't have to run away." He said and Bella just tensed up and froze as her eyes filled with tears. "You can stay with Marley and me" he said and Bella looked away trying hard not to cry. She was so scared he would take her away from her mother.

"No Jeremy. I don't want that, I like it here" she said.

"Bella, your mom works a lot and she's not always with you, and you also know that you'll be at home alone sometime soon and what are you gonna do Bella?" He said and the girl kept quiet. "She works a lot and we both know how dangerous her job is." He said. "Bella the reason why her and dad did all that hiding all those years was to protect you and now you're just here. Going everywhere with her? That's not protecting you. Dad wouldn't let that happen would he?" He said and Bella just stayed quiet holding her tears in. "You can come back with me and have a normal life. Just a normal life without having to worry about Emily's work" he said.

"I'm not going anywhere Jeremy. I like it here. I love my mom and I want to stay with her" Isabella said.

"Bella, just loving someone is not a good reason to stay with them. You need to take everything else in consideration too" he said.

"She's my mom Jeremy. I've never wished anything more than to live with her" Isabella said.

"Bella I really don't think this is a good idea sweetie. I know Dad wouldn't want this life for you. He never did" Jeremy said and Bella started crying.

"But he's not here is he?" She cried. "He can't do anything now and he said I was going to live with my mom and that's what I will do. And you can't do anything either." She said really fast as tears fell down her face. "I'm not leaving my mother" she said.

"Bella you can still see her and you will be safer with me. Don't you think? Isn't that what dad always wanted? You safe" Jeremy said.

"Jeremy she's a freaking FBI agent! And Her team will do everything to protect me. Don't you worry about that" she said.

"Look Bella. She doesn't even stay with you all the time. You stay more with Penelope then with your mother, don't you?" He said and she just stayed quiet. "Yeah. Do you really think Penelope can protect you? Do you really think that?" He said.

"Yes!" Bella said confident.

"We both now that's not true" Jeremy said.

"You don't know anything. You're not my dad okay?! Dad is gone. Dad can't change things now. He can't do anything and neither can you!" She said. "She is MY mother" Isabella cried.

"And I'm your brother! I just want what's best for you" he said.

"So just leave me alone" she screamed at him. Emily heard and ran upstairs. The moment she got to the door Isabella ran to her and bursted into tears.

"Honey, what happened?" Emily asked but the girl just cried and hid her face. "Can you give us a moment?" Emily asked Jeremy who was in tears too and he nodded yes and walked out. He didn't want to hurt Bella and he hated seeing her crying but he had to say those things. He had to because it was what he believed in and he wanted her home with him.

He headed out and Emily walked to the bed with Bella.

"Honey what happened?" Emily asked sitting down and placing the child on her lap.

"He can't take me with him can he?" Isabella cried.

"No he cannot" Emily said. "Don't you worry about this okay? You're not going anywhere you don't want to go" Emily said firm. "Don't cry" she said trying to calm the girl.

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Downstairs Jeremy went to the living room to find Penelope watching tv.

"What happened?" Penelope asked worried.

"We were talking and she got upset" he said.

"You were talking about what?" She asked.

"Everything" Jeremy said and Penelope looked at him a bit confused. She was about to ask something when the buzzer rang.

"Let me get that" she said and walked to the intercom.

It was Marley. She buzzed her in and went to get a drink of water.

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Upstairs Bella's crying had almost stopped completely.

"Hey. Let's lay down" Emily said and they laid on the bed and hugged. "Try to get some sleep baby" Emily said and it wasn't long till Bella was out.

Emily waited a while before going down. When she got to the living room Penelope, Jeremy and Marley were watching tv.

"What the heck did you tell her?" Emily asked pissed at Jeremy.

"I just said she could live with us if she wanted too" he said.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't all you told her" Emily said normally now.

"I just want to make sure she's okay. I'm sorry I upset her. I didn't mean to" he said and Emily sat down.

"She's fine with me Jeremy" Emily said and no one said anything.

After a while the buzzer rang again and Emily went to answer and it was Derek Morgan. He went up and greeted them and said: "where's my girl?"

"Upstairs" Penelope said.

"Still sleeping?" He asked surprised.

"She fell asleep again after breakfast" Emily said.

"Can I go see her anyways?" He asked hopeful.

"Go ahead." Emily said and he walked to the stairs. "Oh and if possible bring her down." Emily added.

"I'll make it possible" he said and walked upstairs.

"Hi" Derek said walking in the room where the girl was staring at the wall.

"Hi" she said looking very tired.

"How are you today?" He asked and sat on the bed.

"Fine" she said.

"Fine?" He smiled and she raised her shoulders. He smiled at that and said: "do you want to go down for a while?"

The little girl nodded yes but looked sad.

"You don't look very happy about that" he said.

"I'm just tired" she said.

"Yeah" he said. "Well let's be tired downstairs with a movie playing huh?" He said and she nodded yes. "Let's go then" he said and she got up.

At the door he picked her up.

"I can walk you know?!" She said.

"You're tired remember?" He smiled and she just hugged him.

.

"Oh look who's here" Marley said happy to see the girl looking a bit better.

"Hi" Bella said. Derek placed her down and Jeremy walked close to her.

"I'm sorry" he told the girl, who just stared at him and then made a face and said "whatever" and everyone laughed.

Derek sat on the couch and Bella sat between him and Emily. Bella snuggled Emily and they started watching a movie on tv. Bella fell asleep 20 minutes into the film.

Around 11:30 Penelope decided to cook lunch and Emily went to help.

"You stay with your uncle okay?" She told Bella who just looked at her, laid her head on Derek's lap and went back to sleep.

They cooked the food and set the table and everyone went to eat, including Bella who wasn't very happy about being waken up to eat.

She ate half of the food Emily put on her plate and said she was full.

"Well, you can either finish this or drink an apple smoothie I've made" Emily told Bella.

"Smoothie" Isabella said.

"Go get it" Emily said and Bella walked to the fridge and grabbed the glass of smoothie. She gave it to Emily, who stirred it up and returned to Bella who drank it all.

"Done" Bella whispered to Emily.

"Good job" Emily said and Bella laid her head on Emily's lap. She stayed there till everyone was done.

"Let's go to the couch" Emily told Bella and the girl got up and they headed to the couch.

Before they made there, Isabella ran to the bathroom and Emily ran after her. She held the child's hair and she threw up.

They girl couldn't help but cry.

"Are you done?" Emily asked wiping Bella's tears and the child nodded yes.

"Can I brush my teeth?" The girl asked.

"Sure" Emily said and Bella went to the sink. She brushed her teeth and then Emily picked her up and took her to the living room.

She sat down with Emily and they watched tv.

At 1:30 Isabella needed the last penicillin shot.

Emily had talked to Jeremy the day before and he or Marley would do it.

"Bella come here. Sit on my lap" Emily said and Bella did what she was told. "How are you feeling honey?" Emily asked.

"Fine" Bella said.

"Are you in any pain?" Emily asked.

"A little" Bella said. "It hurts when I breathe" she said.

"So all the time?" Emily joked and Bella smiled.

"No mom. Just when I breathe in" Bella said and Emily hugged her.

"Well, at the hospital the doctor prescribed a treatment for you called tri-penicillin. Do you know what that is?" Emily said.

"No" Bella whispered. Everyone could see she was scared.

Derek sat closer to Emily on the couch in case Bella ran or something.

"Well that means you need three penicillin shots" Emily said.

"What?" Bella said scared.

"Oh honey. You already took two. Calm down" Emily said. "You took two and there's only one more left" she said and Bella just stared at her. "We have to do it right now okay?" Emily said.

"Right now?" Bella said with tears filling her eyes.

"Yeah" Emily said and nodded yes.

Bella hugged her tight and started crying.

"Oh honey" Emily said soothing the girls hair.

"I don't want to" Bella cried.

"It's the last one. No more after this I promise" Emily said.

"No. It's gonna hurt mom. I don't want to do it again" Bella said still hugging Emily tight.

"Look, Derek can hold you and Jeremy will do it really fast. And we are gonna be right here" Emily said as Marley started preparing the injection.

"Come here princess" Derek said standing up and trying to pick Bella up.

"No!" She cried and tighten her arms around her mother.

"It's okay Bella" Derek said grabbing one of her arms.

"No! No mom! I don't want to" Bella cried.

"we gotta do it" Jeremy said. "You're gonna be okay Bella" he said.

"No" she cried.

"Emily we can't wait here" Marley said almost finishing preparing the shot.

Emily looked at Derek as if saying to get Bella off of her. He started getting the girl and Bella started screaming "no".

"Calm down" Derek said.

"No! No! Mom! I don't want to! No" she screamed and cried and Emily's heart was broken to have to take her baby's arms off of her so Derek could hold her.

"Mom!" She cried. "No!" She screamed. "Please I can't do this again" she cried.

Derek sat on the big couch and held her like he did in the hospital with the help of Marley holding her legs.

"No! Let me go! Let me go!" She cried and started moving to try to be let go. Derek tighten his arms around her and Emily helped Marley with her legs.

"Bella just stay still okay?" Emily said and the girl screamed as Jeremy pulled her pants down.

"No! Derek let me go! I don't to" she screamed and tried moving but they held her tight.

"Bella you can't move okay? Stay still" Jeremy said rubbing alcohol on her skin.

"Just get it over with" Derek said.

"No! No! Please" Bella screamed and cried.

Suddenly Sergio jumped on Jeremy's leg.

"Au!" He scream. "Get this cat out of here" he said and Penelope picked Sergio who was still trying to bite and scratch Jeremy. She locked the cat in the office while Jeremy rubbed alcohol again.

"Please don't do it" Bella cried. "Mommy" she cried.

Jeremy went and did it. She started screaming the moment the needle went in and when the medicine started going in she closed her eyes tight and clenched her teeth. It was hurting to much.

"Bella relax" Jeremy said. "Relax" he repeated.

Isabella started shaking.

"Just breath princess" Derek said and she let out the breath she was holding and the crying and screaming go worse but she stopped shaking.

"Stop! It hurts!" She cried. "Ahhhhh" she screamed as Jeremy tried going a bit faster. "Stoooooop it" she cried. "Au ahhh" she said pinching Derek's arm.

"All done" Jeremy said and she just kept crying. He put a band-aid on and pulled her pants up. "It's over" he said.

"It hurts too much" Isabella cried. Derek pulled her up to his lap and she pushed him off.

"Hey. It's okay. It's done" Derek told Bella trying to hug her. "I'm sorry princess" he said sounding a bit hurt.

Isabella looked at his face and threw herself in his arms letting out a sob.

He picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck just sobbing and wetting his shirt.

"It's all done" he told her and started walking around the apartment.

Penelope was crying hugging Marley.

"Those hurt but she'll be fine" Marley told Penelope.

Emily went and grabbed a glass of water for Bella. She walked to Derek who was now in the dining room.

"Baby drink a little bit of water" Emily said. Running her hand on Bella's back who was still crying.

"No" Bella cried.

"Mommy it hurts" Bella said and turned her head to look at Emily.

"You're all done okay? I promise" Emily said softly. "Do you want to go lay down?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

"Can you bring her upstairs?" Emily asked Derek.

"Sure" he said and they walked upstairs. He laid Bella down on Emily's bed and Isabella grabbed her blanket and just sobbed.

Emily sat on the bed and pulled the girl up to her lap.

"It's all done" Emily kept repeating while slightly rocking the child.

"It hurts mommy" Bella said griping Emily's shirt.

"I know I'm sorry. It's going to stop soon. Close your eyes try to sleep. I'm gonna be right here" Emily said and Bella did that.

After about 13 minutes she finally fell asleep after crying for so long.

Emily felt her face was wet too. She hadn't realized she had started crying around minute 4. She wiped her face and put Bella's hair behind her ear and just sat there staring at the girl.

Suddenly Penelope walked in.

"Is she okay?" Penelope asked.

"She's gonna be alright" Emily said.

"This is really the last one, right?" Penelope asked.

"I'm not letting anybody give her that again" Emily said serious and Penelope sat on the bed.

"Jeremy said she didn't relax her muscle the entire time" Penelope said and Emily just stared at Bella.

"She did a good job though" Emily said.

"She did. She's so tough" Penelope said. "I think I would have fought way more then she did" Penelope smiled and Derek walked in.

"Jeremy just left" he said.

"What?" Emily asked confused.

"He said he would go pack while Bella was asleep and he'll come back later. He's going back to Seattle tomorrow" Derek said.

"Earlier today he asked her if she wanted to go back to Seattle" Emily told Derek.

"That's why she was crying?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah" Emily said. "She didn't really want to talk about it but she was really scared he was going to take her"

"My poor munchkin" Penelope said soothing Bella's hair.

"Seriously sometimes I'm ready to punch him" Emily said.

"Yeah?" Derek said smiling.

"What are you smiling at?" Emily asked.

"You, super mama " he said.

Suddenly Bella woke up and hugged Emily.

"Hey are you okay?" Emily asked as she heard the girl sniffing.

"Don't leave me, okay?" Bella said.

"I'm not going anywhere" Emily said. "Go back to sleep" she said and Bella closed her eyes again and payed attention to Emily's heart.

Penelope and Derek just stayed quiet till they saw Bella was back asleep.

"It's amazing how much you two look and are alike" he said noticing Bella's face. She looked so much like Emily when she falls asleep on the jet.

"She truly is your mini" Penelope smiled and Emily smiled too.

Suddenly Derek's phone rang.

"It's Hotch" he told them and walked out to answer. On the phone Hotch said the guy that told Bella to run when she was lost had been taken to a room so Hotch wanted to know if he wanted to go with him to talk since he talked more to Bella about it all.

"I have to go. Anything just call me" Derek told Penelope and Emily.

"Okay" Emily said.

"I'll stop by with pizza from the princess later. What do you think?" He said.

"She'll love that" Emily said and the three smiled.

"Let me walk you" Penelope said and headed out with Derek. He left and she went up again.

Emily laid Bella down on the bed and the girl didn't even move. She put a DVD on and Penelope sat to watch the movie while Emily showered. She knew once the kid was up she would want Emily around.

After 30 minutes she walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed to watch the movie.

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At the hospital Derek met Hotch and Rossi and went to talk to the man.

His name was Brian Davis. He told the agents that the man chased him and beat him up. He got knocked out and when he woke up he was already at the hospital. The agents did a cognitive interview and managed to get a description of the unsub. He was white, dark haired, mid to late 40s, had a mustache, didn't sound American and had a tattoo on his ankle.

Brian wasn't able to tell exactly what the tattoo was like but with his description the agents had something.

"And how is the girl?" Brian asked. "The little one" he said talking about Bella and not the teenager who died.

"She had pneumonia because of the rain but she'll be alright." Hotch said.

"You saved her life" Derek said.

"I'm just happy she's okay" Brian said. They talked a bit more and then left and went to the office.

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Back at Emily's apartment, they watched movies and tv all day while Bella slept.

It was almost 7:30 when Bella woke up.

"Hi" Emily said. "How are you feeling?" She asked the girl who had very puffy eyes from crying.

Isabella didn't answer but gave Emily a hug. "Are you okay?" Emily asked.

"I'm not gonna have more right?" Bella asked.

"No" Emily said. "It's all done."

"Do you promise mom?" Bella asked.

"I swear to you. No more penicillin okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella cried and Emily hugged her tight.

"You're gonna be just fine now"

"Mom?" Bella said and looked at Emily.

"Yes" Emily said.

"Can you not allow them to do this ever again?" Bella said. "It hurts so bad"

Emily smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Never again" she told Bella and Penelope was smiling at the scene. Suddenly the buzzer rang.

"It must be Derek" Penelope said running out of the room.

"Uhhhm he said he would bring pizza for a special someone" Emily said and Bella have her a shy little smile. "Do you wanna go down to have some?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes. Emily got off the bed and helped Bella up. Emily could see the girl was still in a bit of pain.

"Come here" she said and picked Bella up.

"Au" Bella said feeling a bit of pain by the way Emily picked her.

Emily walked out and when she got to the stairs Derek appeared at the bottom.

"Oh. Let me do that" Derek smiled and ran up and picked Bella, who wrapped her arms around his neck. "Are you okay?" Derek asked heading down the stairs.

"Sorta of" Bella said.

"Well, I brought ... That" he said when they got to the bottom of the stairs.

"What is it?" Bella asked staring at the big wrapped box in the island.

"Open it up" Derek said taking Bella to the island and sitting the girl on a stool. She started unwrapping it and her face light up when she saw the box. It was a 'Doctor Who' Chess.

"Oh my God!" She said. "Thank you so much" she said all excited and hugged Derek.

"You're welcome princess" Derek said.

"Oh Derek you didn't need to get her anything." Emily said.

"Well, I felt really bad for holding her down so I just wanted to do something nice for her and I saw this and I couldn't think of anything better" he said to Emily but looking at Bella.

Isabella went and hugged him again and tears started falling.

Derek felt she was crying and signed to Emily.

"Hey. Why are you crying?" Emily asked running her hand on Bella's back.

"I wouldn't want anyone else holding me down" Bella said and melted everyone's heart.

"I will always be here if you need me kid" Derek said. "Now no more crying" he smiled and let go of the hug.

Isabella smiled and wiped her face and he helped her.

"Thank you so much for this" Bella told him staring back at the box.

"Well are we gonna play or what?" He said and everyone smiled.

Derek helped Bella open the box and everyone helped set it up.

"Baby girl! Order us some pizza? It's on me" Derek told Penelope.

"Sure love" Penelope said and went to call.

Derek played once against Bella and Bella won.

"Mom, your turn" Isabella said.

"My turn to get murdered at chess by a 10 year-old" Emily laughed and Bella smiled. Everyone was having fun, even Bella who was still in pain.

"Checkmate" Isabella said smiling.

"I don't even know why I try" Emily said and everyone smiled.

"That's why I don't even get near that" Penelope said "only to see these cute little guys" she said picking up a piece. Everyone laughed and the pizza got there. They headed to the couch and ate and watched some tv.

It was almost 11:30 when...

"Hey. Let's get ready for bed?" Emily told Bella.

"Bed? She has been in bed all day" Derek said and Emily smiled.

"Well, do YOU want to go to bed?" She asked Bella and the girl nodded yes.

"Sorry" Bella told Derek.

"You own me a game tomorrow" he said.

"Okay" Bella smiled.

"I'll take you up" he said picking her up faster than the no that she spoke.

"I can walk you know?" She said embarrassed.

"I have strong arms you know?" Derek joked and everyone laughed. He carried her up and let her down on Emily's room.

"Shower" Emily said and Bella walked in the bathroom and coughed a little.

"Do you want any help?" Emily asked.

"Nop. Can you just get me a towel and pajamas?" Bella said.

"Sure" Emily said and walked out.

Bella went in and took a quick hot shower. She got out of the shower and yelled "mom!". Suddenly Emily said "the towel is in the doorknob"

"Okay" Bella answered back. She went and got the towel and then combed her hair. She walked out and Emily handed her the pajamas, an old Yale shirt and pajama pants, and underwear. She walked back to the bathroom and got dressed.

When she got out Derek and Penelope were sitting on the bed while Emily was in her closet getting her pajamas. Isabella walked to the bed and sat next to Penelope.

"Lay here buttercup" Penelope said and Bella laid her head on the pillow on Penelope's lap.

"Well i gotta go" Derek said.

"Will you give me a ride home?" Penelope said making a puppy dog face.

"Of course i will baby girl" Derek said. "Bye Bella" he said and Bella sat up and he hugged her.

"Oh bye bye sugarplum. I'm gonna miss you tonight but I'll be back soon okay? I promise promise promise okay?" Penelope said hugging Bella.

"Okay" Bella smiled.

"You just rest and you'll be good as new very soon" Penelope said and Bella laid down.

Emily walked back to the bedroom and they headed out while Bella stayed up.

At the apartment's door they said goodbye.

"Wasn't Jeremy going to come back?" Penelope said.

"He said he would" Emily said. "I'll call him to see what happened." She said.

"Okay. So I'll see you tomorrow?" Penelope said. "I'll bring lunch!"

"Of course" Emily smiled. She loved that her friends also loved her daughter.

"Anything just call" Derek said.

"Thank you guys" Emily said. "For everything"

"No worries love. We're family" Penelope said and they all smiled.

"Bye" Derek said.

"Bye" Emily said and they left.

Emily called Jeremy and he said Marley wasn't feeling very good so he decided to stay in the hotel with her, which was a lie, he just didn't want to be reject by Bella again.

Emily went back to her bedroom and found Bella hugging Tramp and her blanket fast asleep. She went to the bathroom to change and when she got back the girl was still in the same position. She laid next to the child and let out a breath, relived it was over. No more horrible injections for the child. Isabella was doing better. She was eating a bit more, and she wasn't super pale now. She still had a cough, and a headache and her nose was congested but she was going to be okay.

She covered the girl up and kissed her forehead and went closer to her. It didn't take long for her sleep to catch her.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Emily woke up around 8. She smiled at the sight of Isabella asleep next to her. She got up, took a shower, got dressed and headed to the kitchen and made waffles.

A little over 9 she went up to wake Isabella.

"Hey! Bella" she said in a low voice close to the child's ear. "Wake up sleeping beauty"

Isabella's eyes opened a little and she smiled at the sight of her mother.

"Hi honey" Emily said smiling and then gave Bella a kiss on the forehead.

"Hi mom" Isabella said.

"Breakfast's ready" Emily said and the teen sat up.

"Can I have just 5 more minutes?" Bella asked still a bit sleepy.

"No. I already gave you that. It's 5 past 9. And I was going to wake you up at 9" Emily said smiling.

"That doesn't count!" Bella said.

"Yes it does" Emily laughed and Bella couldn't help but laugh too. "Come on. Let's go" Emily said and helped Bella up. They ate the waffles and than decided to watch a movie.

It was a little over 10 when the intercom rang. Emily picked up and it was Jeremy. She buzzed him in.

"Who is it?" Bella asked.

"Your brother and Marley" Emily said a little concern. She wasn't sure how Bella would feel about him now. "Are you okay with them being here?" She asked.

"Sure" Bella said acting like it was no big deal. Emily knew her daughter too well to know she wasn't on the mood for talking about it so she just left for later.

.

Shortly the doorbell rang and Emily went to open.

"Good morning" she said.

"Good morning" Jeremy said. "We were wondering if we could hang out before we have to leave to Seattle again?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course. Come on in" Emily said and the couple walked to the couch where Bella was sitting watching tv and covered with a blanket.

"Hi" Marley said.

"Hi" Bella said with a little smile.

"Are you feeling better?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah. A little. But I'll be fine" Isabella answered.

"Of course you will" he said and smiled at her.

Emily came and sat next to Bella on the couch and Marley and Jeremy sat on the other. They just watched the movie and didn't talk much. The only words they spoke were about the film. Which Bella felt glad. But when the movie was over Emily decided to talk about her plans on going to Seattle on the weekend.

"So I was thinking we could maybe go to Seattle and spend the weekend there and see everyone and maybe get some of your things if you want." Emily said and she could notice Isabella was a bit tensed.

"Would that be a good thing?" Emily asked. She wanted Bella to see her old friends.

"Sure. I guess" Bella said not looking at anyone.

"Alright than" Emily smiled choosing to ignore the fact that she could see that Bella didn't really wanted to.

"So will you guys stay at our house or?" Marley asked but before she finished Isabella said "Hilton". Then she looked at Emily and said "right?"

"Yeah. We'll stay in a hotel. And Penelope is coming" Emily said and she smiled at the sign of relief on her daughter face.

"Oh okay" Marley said.

"We would love to have you guys for dinner at our house" Jeremy said. "Would you like to go Bella?" He asked the girl.

"Yeah" Bella said hiding a little smile. She loved her brother, she really did. She was just scared but she didn't want to hurt him.

"Okay cool" Jeremy smiled.

"Well speaking of food. We need to have lunch before we go to the airport" Marley said.

"Anyone up for spaghetti?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella smiled.

"Definitely" Jeremy said smiling at Bella.

Emily stood up and headed to the kitchen. She started getting the ingredients. "Bella?" She said.

"Yes?" Isabella answered.

"How about you cutting these tomatoes for me?" Emily smiled.

"Sure" Isabella said. She walked to the kitchen island carrying the blanket she was covering herself with and sat on a stool and covered her legs.

"Are you cold?" Emily asked already with her hand on the girl's forehead.

"No. I just like the way it feel. It's so soft" Bella said a little embarrassed. Emily smiled and touch it.

"It is soft" she said and went back to cooking.

.

After they were done, they ate and suddenly it was time for Jeremy and Marley to leave for the airport.

"Well, we have to go now" Marley said.

"But we'll see you two this weekend right?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"Alright. Then see you then." Jeremy said and hugged Emily. He walked to Bella and hugged her. Emily could see how tense Isabella was.

"You take care okay?" He said.

"Okay. I'll miss you" she said.

"I'll miss you too" Jeremy said and let go of her.

"Bye Marley" Bella said and hugged Marley.

"Bye bye you" Marley smiled.

"Alright . So see you Saturday" Jeremy said.

"See you Saturday" Emily confirmed and shut the door.

She and Bella walked to the living room. Emily sat on the couch and pulled Bella into her lap.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked the young girl.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Do you feel sick still?" Emily asked knowing Bella didn't want to talk about her brother.

"Yeah" Bella said with sadness on her voice as she laid her head on Emily's chest. Emily could feel it wet.

"Oh honey" Emily said as she noticed the kid was crying. "It's going to be okay." She kept saying and Bella didn't say a word, she just cried.

After a while she fell asleep. Which Emily thanked God. The kid needed some rest and the fact she was crying was not a good sign.

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Isabella slept pretty much all afternoon on the couch while Emily did some paper work on Kitchen Island.

It was 6:34 when Chloe went over to give Bella her homework.

"She's asleep right now" Emily said as the young blonde walked in the apartment.

"There's quite a lot of homework actually. I'm really sorry. I was going to come sooner but Millie had a doctor's appointment and we just got home." Chloe said.

"Oh that's okay honey. Bella slept all afternoon. I don't think she'll sleep early today" Emily said.

"Would it be alright if I stayed here for a while to do some of it with her? I'm not very good at Geometry" Chloe asked.

"Is this just an excuse you gave your mother so you could hang out with her?" Emily asked. She knew Chloe was good in math, Bella had told her.

"Maybe" Chloe said embarrassed and Emily laughed.

"Come on let's wake her up" Emily said smiling.

They walked to the couch where Bella was and Emily sat.

"Hey. You gotta wake up Bells" she said soothing the girl's hair who moved a little. "Look who is here" Emily said and Bella opened her eyes.

"Hi" she said when she saw Chloe.

"Hi" Chloe smiled noticing Bella looked a bit better. "We have a bunch of homework and I was wondering if we could do it together" she said.

"Sure" Bella said still a bit sleepy.

"So get up sleepy head. You two can join me on the dinning table." Emily said and Bella got up.

They walked to the dining room and sat next to each other and Emily on the other end of the table so their papers wouldn't get mixed up.

"So what do we have here today?" Bella asked mockingly.

"Geometry, French AND English" Chloe said.

"Holy Jesus" Isabella said look at the amount of paper. "This is just from today?" She asked.

"Yup" Chloe said.

"Good luck" Emily said making a face at all the homework.

"God save us" Chloe said.

"Oh! Does anyone wants some candy to help with all this homework?" Emily asked taking a bag of gummy bears out of her bag.

"You are God!" Chloe said and everyone laughed.

"Anyways. What should we do first?" Isabella asked.

"Well there's this group paper we have to do. Well, actually its just me and you. But anyways, it's English and we have to talk about an author so I was thinking maybe Jane Austen" Chloe said.

"Perfect. I have a book about her and I'm pretty sure everyone is just gonna look up online" Bella said standing up to get it. She went to the office and came back with a gigantic book about authors.

"Do you think we should do 2 for extra credit?" Chloe asked.

"No. Are you crazy? Look at the amount of homework we have! Why in the world would you want to do extra?" Isabella said.

"For better grades" Emily said.

"Mom, it's impossible to get more than an A. So there's no point" Isabella said and they laughed.

"Alright girls. Less talking and more thinking. Come on" Emily said and the girls started with the homework.

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It was almost 8:30 when Penelope called. She asked Emily if she could take pizza for the girl's and Emily said yes.

After about 20 minutes they finished the homework and it seemed timed because as soon as they put everything away Penelope rang the intercom.

"Chloe! It's Penelope. Can you open?" Emily asked since Isabella looked exhausted carrying her folder to the couch.

"Hey. Come here" Emily smiled at the tired look on Bella's face.

"I'm fine" Bella said as she sat down on Emily's lap and stared at her mother.

"I know you are" Emily said though her face did not match what she spoke. Isabella smiled embarrassed. Emily hugged and kissed her.

"Come on" Emily said and they stood up and went to the kitchen.

They got some plates, glasses and Coke and placed on the dinner table.

Suddenly the door bell rang and Chloe went to open.

"Hello my loves!" Penelope greeted happily. She handed the pizza box to Emily and hugged Chloe.

"How are you sunshine?" Penelope asked Chloe.

"Good" Chloe said smiling.

Suddenly Bella walked out of the dining room as Emily got in.

"Hi mini" Penelope said and walked fast in the direction of the girl and gave her a big hug. Isabella coughed a bit and Penelope let go.

"You okay?" She asked a little scared.

"Im alright" Bella said smiling.

"Good." Penelope smiled. "Aw hug me" Garcia said and Bella hugged her again.

"Okay. You two. Let's eat" Emily said smiling at the scene of the two hugging.

Penelope smiled and they headed to the dining room. They started eating and talking about the day. Emily mentioned the amount of homework the girl's had and Penelope agreed that was crazy. They were almost done with the pizza when Bella decided to ask if she could go to bed. She was sitting beside Emily so she went close to her mother and said very low "I wanna go to bed".

"It's not even 9 yet honey" Emily said hugging Bella.

Penelope and Chloe knew what Bella had asked.

"We can watch Doctor Who now. Huh?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said. She wanted to sleep but at the same time she didn't.

"Let's watch one episode and then we go to bed okay?" Emily said.

"Speaking of going to bed, I have to go" Chloe said.

"Will you come by tomorrow?" Isabella asked letting go of Emily.

"Sure. There will always be more homework" Chloe said and laughed.

"Oh God" Bella said.

Chloe walked to her and gave her a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow than" Chloe said.

"Okay" Bella smiled. "Goodnight"

"Goodnight" Chloe told Bella. "Goodnight guys" she told Emily and Penelope.

"I have to go too. I work early tomorrow" Penelope said.

"Bye my pumpkin" Penelope said running to hug Bella who stood up and hugged her. "I'll see you soon"

"Okay" Bella said. Penelope could see the kid was tired.

Penelope and Chloe headed to the door and Emily followed behind while Bella headed to the couch. At the door they said their goodbyes and than left. Emily than took the things off the table and went to the couch to stay with Bella, who had already put Doctor Who on.

"So doctor who then bed?" Emily asked sitting down next to Isabella on the couch.

"Yeah" Bella said resting her head on her mother's arm. Emily smiled and threw one arm around the girl.

They had been watching tv for about 20 minutes in that same exact position, when suddenly Bella jumped up and ran to the bathroom. She went heavy into the toilet. So many years were streaming down her hated that was happening, she hated feeling like that. Emily ran close behind and held her hair and wrapped an arm around her stomach to help her stand up. She could see Isabella hated feeling like that. Bella threw up quite a lot and she cried the whole time. Once she was done she was really upset and still crying. She walked to the sink and washed her mouth while Emily flushed the toilet. When Emily was done she walked close to Bella and the girl just broke down. Emily heard a sob and she picked Bella up because she knew it would take a while for the kid to stop crying. She carried Isabella to the couch and just sat there with her baby on her arms.

"It's okay honey. You're gonna get better" Emily said trying to calm Bella a bit, who didn't say anything just cried.

"It's okay. You're okay" Emily kept repeating as the girl kept crying.

After a while her crying subsided and the sobs were than gone, leaving her with silent tears streaming.

"How about you take a shower, huh?" Emily said hoping that could relax the kid a little. Bella nodded yes.

"Come on than. Let's go" Emily said moving to stand. Bella got out of her lap and Emily grabbed her hand. She knew the kid wanted her close.

"Come" Emily said with a little smile and they headed upstairs.

Isabella got pajamas and headed to the bathroom.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Emily asked.

"No. It's okay mom" Bella said.

"Okay than I'll take a shower too alright?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and closed the bathroom door.

"Anything go get me or yell" Emily said heading to the door.

"Okay" Bella agreed and turned the shower on. Emily than headed to her bedroom got her clothes and went to shower.

Isabella didn't take long in the shower. She finished, got dressed and than sat on the floor of her room with a book. She read a couple of pages and than lay right there. She kept reading a bit but suddenly she fell asleep.

After about 6 minutes Emily walked in the room. She smiled at the sight of her baby on the floor with a book.

"Oh Bella" she said and walked to the child.

"Honey. Let's go to bed" she whispered on the girl's ear. "Come on. You're on the floor" she said and Bella opened her eyes.

"Hi. Lay in bed. Come on" Emily said with a smile and helped the girl up. Isabella laid on the bed and Emily tucked her in.

"Goodnight Bella" Emily said.

"Goodnight mom" Bella whispered and turned to the side. Emily kissed her cheek and walked to the door. She turned the night light on and the other light off and headed to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of wine and sat to watch some tv. After a while Penelope called.

"How is everything?" Penelope asked.

"It's alright. She threw up again but otherwise" Emily said.

"Oh no. My poor munchkin" Penelope said sad.

"She's gonna be alright. She's asleep now" Emily said.

"Well, anything you know how to reach me." Penelope said.

"Thank you Garcia" Emily said.

"Oh just take care of our tiny okay?" Penelope said.

"I will" Emily said with a smile. She loved the fact that Penelope loved her daughter so much.

"Goodnight" Penelope said. Emily said goodnight back and hung up. She put her glass on the sink and headed upstairs. She went to Bella's room to check on the girl and she was fast asleep hugging her blanket. She then went to her bedroom and went to bed too hoping that the kid would have a good night of sleep.

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 ****** guys! just to let you know that "tri-penicillin" is not a real thing. I made it up to add a little bit more of action to the story =) Anyways... cool things are coming soon! And thanks for all the reviews! i love reading what you guys think about this story =)**


	44. Chapter 44: At JJ's and Check-ups

**(Wednesday)**

It was 3:26 am when Isabella woke up sweating. She checked her phone for the time and went to the bathroom. When she got back on the bed she couldn't sleep anymore so she decided to go downstairs and watch a movie. She took her covers with her. She put a Harry Potter film on and turned the volume way down and put subtitles so her mother wouldn't wake up. She knew Emily needed to rest. She laid on the couch with her blanket and her covers and watched almost half of the movie and fell asleep.

.

It was a little over 8 when Emily woke up. She brushed her teeth and then went to check on Bella. She found the bed empty with only the pillows in. She walked downstairs and found the girl fast asleep on the couch with the menu of Harry Potter playing. She went to get breakfast and then sat on the other couch and pressed play on the remote. During the movie she caught herself staring at the sleeping girl a couple of times. She could stare for hours at the peaceful face Bella had while sleeping and how she held that blanket so tightly.

Almost at the end of the movie Penelope called to see how Bella was doing and Emily told her the girl was asleep in the living room and everything. She also invited Penelope over after work if the team didn't travel on a new case. Of course Penelope said she would go. Than they hang up and Emily went back to watching the movie.

.

It was almost 11 when Bella woke up and found Emily staring at her.

"Hi" Bella said.

"Hi" Emily said smiling. "Are you feeling better?"

"I don't know" Isabella answered.

"You couldn't sleep last night?" Emily asked.

"No. But apparently I did" Bella said closing her eyes again.

"Well. Do you want cereal?" Emily asked standing up to go get it and Bella nodded yes. She knew Emily wanted her to eat something so she did.

After eating, Isabella stayed watching tv while Emily took a shower.

"You should shower honey" Emily said coming down the stairs. "Or at least change your clothes. You don't want to stay all day in pajamas again do you?"

"Actually I do" Bella said honestly and Emily smiled.

"Well. Actually" Emily said heading to the couch. "We have a new rule."

"Oh yeah?" Bella asked knowing exactly what was coming.

"No pajamas if it's not bed time" Emily said. "Come on. Go change" she smiled and Bella smiled back.

"Okay" Bella said getting up. Emily hugged her and than she went upstairs.

While Emily worked on some paper work from her last case, Isabella showered. She got downstairs wearing black leggings and a hoodie that was definitely lose on her.

"Are you cold honey?" Emily asked.

"I don't know " Bella said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Emily laughed but she was worried and Bella laid on the couch.

They watched tv and around 3pm Emily made mac and cheese. Bella started eating and felt a bit hot so she took the hoodie off, she was wearing a family guy T-shirt. They ate and went back to watching tv.

Around 4 Chloe went over with more homework and the girls sat on the dining room table to do it. Luckily there wasn't as much as the day before, they just had Geography and Science to do.

Once they were done they headed to Isabella's bedroom.

"So how are you feeling B?" Chloe asked.

"Sick" Bella said. "And tired"

"You feel sick all the time?" Chloe asked.

"Pretty much" Bella said a bit down.

"You'll get better soon" Chloe said. "You have to. School sucks without you there"

Isabella smiled.

"I know I'm awesome" she said and they bursted into laughter.

"See. I need that back at school" Chloe said. She loved Bella's humor.

"I'm sure I'll be back soon" Bella said. She felt a bit scared of going back but she knew she would have to.

"So what do you wanna do now?" Chloe asked.

"How about a board game? Or do you like chess?" Isabella asked noticing she never really mentioned chess to Chloe.

"I suck at chess but we could play something else" Chloe said and Bella laughed.

"Okay. The games are in the office" Bella said and they headed to the office.

"So what's gonna be?" Bella asked standing next to Chloe in front of the cabinet with the games in.

"The game of life?" Chloe suggested.

"Sure" Bella said and Chloe got the box. They sat at the dining room table and started to organize the game.

"Mom" Bella yelled out. Emily came in running.

"Do you wanna play?" Isabella asked and Emily breathed in relief.

"I thought you were feeling sick or something" Emily said and sat down next to Bella since the girls were sitting across from each other.

"Sorry" Bella said and handed a car to Emily. They started playing and things went great. They had a great time.

.

Around 6 JJ and Penelope went over and they decided to do a puzzle together because by that time the girls had placed every game in the house on the dining table.

Emily went to cook dinner while they played. After a while Hilary called Chloe so she could go home for dinner. She said goodbye to everyone and left. So they went to have dinner too. Emily had made chicken breasts, rice, potatoes and a salad. They put the games away and sat down at the table. Emily started putting some food for Bella when the girl said "mom. I don't feel very good". The first thing Emily thought was that she was having a panic attack but when she looked at Bella she saw her breathing was normal and she looked calm.

"What are you feeling?" She asked and the kid started to cry. Isabella hated how much she had been crying lately. It seemed like since her father died she lost control of everything.

Emily placed Bella on her lap and hugged her.

"Honey you're burning" Emily said noticing Bella was really hot.

"I'll get the thermometer" JJ said and headed to the cabinet in the guest bathroom where Emily kept all the medical stuff. She went back and Emily checked Bella's fever while the girl just hugged her looking really tired and with a wet face.

"It's really high" Emily said looking at the thermometer. "Let's lay on the couch come on. You can eat later" Emily said knowing that Bella was not going to eat anything not even if she begged.

Bella headed to the couch while Emily went to get her medicine. She drank the medicine and laid down.

JJ and Penelope sat at the kitchen island to eat and Emily sat on the couch next to Bella. They had just finished eating when Bella ran to the bathroom. She threw up again and it had been just 10 minutes since she had her medicine. Emily knew what that meant. She probably would need a shot for the fever. Penelope stayed with the girl in the bathroom while Emily called the doctor and she said that she had two patients to see at the practice but in an hour she would stop by to check on Bella and for Emily to try to give her the medicine again in about 30 minutes. Everyone headed to Isabella's bedroom and Bella laid on the bed while they sat around her. She was so tired and she just hated being sick.

After some time Emily gave her the medicine again and just like Emily expected the kid ran shortly after to the bathroom again. Emily helped her and than she brushed her teeth and just cried. They laid in bed and Emily told Bella the doctor was going to stop by to check on her.

She was almost asleep when the doctor got there.

She checked Isabella's temperature again and it was even higher. She talked to Emily and she needed to take the medicine and since she wasn't keeping anything down at the moment she needed a shot.

Isabella took it better than everyone expected. She barely cried. It wasn't a painful shot so she just cried because of everything that was happening not because of the shot itself.

After they were done Penelope laid next to Bella while Emily and JJ went downstairs to talk to the doctor. They talked about how Bella was doing and the doctor rescheduled the check up for it to be two days and not on the next since she had just seen the girl. She also told Emily to try to make Bella eat a little even if she's not feeling good. Emily knew that could possibly be hard but she knew she had to do it. The doctor left and shortly after JJ left too.

"If you need anything just call" JJ said and said her goodbyes to Emily and went home.

Emily went upstairs to find Penelope and Bella fast asleep hugging each other. So she headed downstairs and put all the dishes away.

After a while Penelope appeared.

"Hey" Emily said. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She's still sleeping" Penelope said.

"That's good" Emily smiled and sat on the couch.

"Well, I was wondering if I could maybe stay over tonight? Just in case you need some help with the little one" Penelope said.

"Of course you can Garcia. Bella loves having you here" Emily smiled and Penelope smiled back. The conversation was cut by a "mom" that was screamed upstairs.

They headed up in a blink.

"What happened?" Emily asked seeing the girl crying on the bed.

"I don't wanna be alone here" Bella said crying. Emily went and hugged her.

"We'll stay here with you" Emily said and Penelope went to the tv.

"Let's put a movie on and go to sleep munchkin" Penelope said. She turned the tv on and put 'The Princess Diaries 2' on while Bella just hugged Emily and tried to stop with all the crying.

The three women just laid and watched the movie till all of them were asleep. 

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 **(Thursday)**

It was a little over 7 when Penelope woke up to find Emily already awake staring at Isabella sleeping in the middle of them.

"Hi" Garcia said.

"Good morning" Emily smiled.

"You lost yourself on her face again?" Penelope joked and Emily smiled and said yes.

"I need to head to work" Penelope said.

"Well, let's get breakfast than. I don't think this one will wake up any time soon" Emily said and they went to get breakfast.

After breakfast Penelope went to work and Emily went back upstairs, changed her clothes and went to stay with Bella. She checked Isabella's fever and it was all good. She just hoped the girl felt a bit better. 

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Around 9 she headed back to the kitchen and got a bowl of cereal and half an apple for Bella. She than woke the girl up and asked her to eat a little. Isabella didn't want it at first but Emily sat next to her and said she needed to eat something in order to get better and the kid was just so tired that she grabbed the apple and ate it all without saying another word. The cereal she wasn't so okay with it but managed to eat half.

"You'll try better at lunch?" Emily asked putting a lock of hair behind the girl's ear. And Isabella nodded yes.

"Alright" Emily said and gave Bella a kiss on the head.

"Remember our new rule?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella said and got up to change her clothes.

"I'll wait for you downstairs okay?" Emily said and headed out the door.

.

It wasn't long till Bella headed down wearing black leggings, a plain navy blue long sleeved shirt and socks. She had her blanket in hands and sat next to Emily on the couch. She felt sick and tired. She didn't want to do anything just sleep. So she laid her head on her mother's lap and it wasn't long till she was asleep again. Emily couldn't help but think at how little the kid seemed to look nowadays. Isabella was a bit small for her age. 

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Around 11 Emily got a call from Penelope.

"Em?" Penelope said.

"Yes?" Emily answered while stroking Bella's hair.

"Our case is here in the city. We're in the office. It's a kidnapping and we have someone in custody but he seems to only speak Russian. The Boss told me to call you. It's urgent" Penelope said.

"I'll be there in 20" Emily said.

"Okay. I can watch Bellie, don't worry" Penelope said.

"Okay. I'll be there soon" Emily said and they hung up.

Emily didn't want to go. She just wanted to sit there with her peaceful sleeping daughter in her arms. But she knew that if Hotch called knowing Isabella was sick, it was really important so she woke Bella up.

"Honey. I need to go to work" Emily said as soon as the girl opened her eyes and turned her head to face her mother.

"What?" Bella asked still sleepy.

"Penelope called and they need me. It's just at the office okay? You can come too and stay with Garcia" Emily told the child.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Let's go." Emily said. "Go get your shoes on and a jacket." Emily told Bella and she did what was told still a little sleepy. They got everything and headed to the car.

The ride was quiet. Bella was shotgun and in the middle of it she was out. Emily was impressed at how much she was sleeping and she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad one.

She parked the car and woke Isabella up who was not happy at all. She was tired and she just wanted to sleep.

"Come on. You can sleep at Garcia's office" Emily said smiling at the girl who stepped out of the car and took her mother's hand. "Jump" emily said and picked the girl up.

They headed in and Emily took Bella straight to Penelope's lair.

"Hi. Buttercup" Penelope said happy to see the girl again.

"Hi. Can I sleep here?" Isabella said as her mother put her down, she looked a bit grumpy, Emily and Penelope smiled at the girl's mood.

"Sure. You know where the blankets are" Penelope said and Bella got a throw from a cabinet and laid on the couch.

"Anything just go get me okay?" Emily said covering the girl up. "I'm sorry" she said giving a kiss on Bella's forehead.

"It's fine mom" Bella said and hugged Emily, who than headed to find the others. Isabella basically passed out on the couch all day. Emily talked to the man and than Hotch said she could go. When she got to Penelope's office to get Bella, Penelope told her that Bella was out since she left and that she had checked the girl's temperature and she was fine.

It was almost 1 so Emily decided to stay and help them with the case.

Around 2pm, they ordered and ate lunch at the office and Emily woke Isabella up to eat a chicken sandwich.

"Lunch time baby. Come on" Emily said softly to the girl who sat up on the couch sort of half asleep still.

"Come on" Emily laughed and handed the sandwich to Bella who took a bite of it. She ate a little more than half but than got full.

"I'm full mom" Isabella said still a bit sleepy and scared Emily would make her eat everything. But Emily just grabbed the sandwich and put it on the mini bar. Isabella laid back on the couch and fell asleep really fast.

"I think she's sleeping too much" Emily told Penelope.

"She's just tired" Penelope said and Emily nodded but still looked concern at Bella.

"Hey. She's okay" Penelope said putting her hand on Emily's who smiled at her. "She's a tough cookie" Penelope said in a tough way and Emily let out a breathy laugh.

They resumed the work and Isabella stayed asleep the rest of the afternoon. Emily was glad that at least the girl wasn't throwing up. 

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It was sometime over 6pm when Emily thought it would be best to take Bella home. They had made some good progress on the case and the kid should be sleeping in her own bed so she woke the girl and said goodbye to everyone.

At home it wasn't long till Chloe called to ask when they were going to be home because she had brought homework for Bella.

"We just got home Chlo. You can come if you want to, or I just go and pick it up?" Emily said.

Isabella was laying on the couch and she had just started cooking Mac and cheese for their diner.

"It's fine I'll be up soon but I can't stay" Chloe said.

"Okay" Emily said.

"I already finished mine and I'm helping mom with Millie. She's not feeling very well."

"Oh alright" Emily said and they hung up. Emily headed to the couch were Bella was and when she was about to tell her that Chloe was coming she realized the girl was already out. She smiled at the sight of peace on her baby's face than she put her hand on Bella's forehead just to make sure she was okay and she wasn't hot. Looking so close Emily could see the girl had a bit more color than the day before which made her smile even bigger. She got a throw that was just sitting on the other couch and covered Isabella up. She put a lock of hair that was on her face behind the young girl's ear and said "you're going to be just fine Bells" , she gave her a kiss on then headed back to cook dinner. Chloe came up quickly after and handed Emily the homework and went back home. Emily finished diner and sat to watch some tv while she ate. Once she was done she put some on a plate for Bella.

"Honey. Dinner" she said waking the girl up. Isabella sat down like a zombie.

"Are you feeling okay?" Emily asked still slightly bothered by the amount of sleep.

"Yeah" Bella said and nodded yes. Emily handed her the plate of Mac and cheese and she ate everything without saying anything. Emily was glad.

Once she was done she told her mother she was going to take a shower and went. Emily did the dishes and as soon as she finished cleaning up everything Isabella went down the stairs.

"Mom? I think I'm gonna go to bed" Isabella said. She had a long sleeved shirt and pajamas shorts on. Emily smiled because at least it was not pants.

"Okay honey, but it's 9 o'clock" Emily said knowing it was a bit early for Bella to go to bed.

"I know. But if I stay here I'm just gonna sleep on the couch anyways" Isabella said. "I'm tired"

"Alright. Go on and I'll be right up" Emily said and Isabella headed to her bedroom.

She laid in bed and waited for Emily while Emily turned the lights off downstairs and took some paperwork she had to work on upstairs. Emily left the things on her desk and went to tuck Bella in.

"Do you want to sleep on my bed tonight?" Emily asked walking in the girl's bedroom.

"No. It's okay" Bella said.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said and Emily smiled sitting on the bed. "But if I need to I can go there, right?" Isabella asked embarrassed.

"Of course you can honey" Emily said and pulled the covers up. She kissed Bella's forehead and stood up.

"Goodnight bells" she said.

"Goodnight mom" Bella said and Emily walked to the door not forgetting to turn the night light on.

"Anything I'm right next door" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and Emily turned the light off.

"Sleep tight" Emily said and headed to her bedroom. She felt exhausted so she decided to sleep too. She took a shower, got dressed and went to check on Bella who was already out. She checked the girl's forehead for a fever, just in case, and it felt normal. She pulled the cover up on the girl again than headed to bed. 

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(Friday)

Emily woke up and went on with her usual morning routine before waking up Isabella a little passed 9am.

The girl said she was feeling better and for Emily's surprise Isabella said she was kind of hungry.

"You kind of hungry? Is this a miracle?" Emily teased hugging the girl and Bella smiled embarrassed.

"So, since you're kind of hungry you get to pick whatever you want for breakfast. huh? What do you think?" Emily told.

"How about cinnamon toasts? I haven't eaten that in a long time" Isabella said.

"That's a wonderful idea chef" Emily said imitating the people from Masterchef, a show they watched sometimes, and Isabella laughed.

"So let's go chef" Isabella said doing the same and they headed out to the kitchen.

Isabella helped Emily cook the food and they had a great time doing that. After eating they decided to go and pack for Seattle, than they went back downstairs to watch an episode of Masterchef since they had been joking about it but as they made their way to the couch, Hotch called Emily.

He said they found documents in Russian at a crime scene and the translator would take too long to get there so he asked if it was possible for her to stop by again and help them.

"Sure. I'll be right there" Emily said and they hung up.

"Right there where?" Asked Isabella.

"Office" Emily said already expecting the girl to be upset about it.

"Again? I thought you would go back only next week" Bella said.

"I'm sorry honey. I'll be fast okay?" Emily said.

"Whatever... I'm going with you, right?" Isabella said not wanting to be away from her mother.

"Of course. Go change" Emily said and the girl went upstairs.

Isabella changed her clothes, got her things, including her iPad and her homework, and they headed to the office.

.

At the office Emily went to the conference room to work and Bella headed to Penelope's office. She watched a movie on Netflix and since Emily was taking so long she started doing her homework. Emily went to see her at lunch time and brought a happy meal from McDonald's that JJ had bought.

"You said it was going to be fast" Isabella said and Emily handed the lunch.

"Would you mind hanging out here today?" Emily asked at the door.

"No it's fine" Bella said sounding a little upset. "Just none of this tomorrow okay?"

"Okay" Emily smiled.

"Do you promise?" Bella asked.

"I promise peanut" Emily said.

"Peanut?" Bella said. "Mom, I'm not 5!" She said and Emily laughed. 

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After eating she read some chapters of a book and finished her homework.

It was around 4 when Emily walked back in the lair to tell Bella they finished the case and got the guy.

"So we can go home now?" Bella asked relived.

"Paperwork" Emily said bummed.

"Mom!" Bella said. She wanted to go home.

"It won't be long." Emily said. "And your check up is today at 6 remember" Emily said and she could notice Bella's face changing.

"I'll be fast I swear" Emily said and left Bella reading her book again. 

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It was almost 6 when Emily went to get Bella so they could leave.

Isabella was really nervous and was trying hard not to show it. They said goodbye to everyone and JJ invited them to have dinner at her house and they all agreed. So they headed to the car.

"Mom?" Isabella said almost whispering while she buckled her seat belt.

"Yeah?" Emily said.

"I won't need another penicillin shot, right?" Isabella asked not even looking at Emily.

"No." Emily said. "And I promise" she added, holding the girl's hand. Isabella looked at her and Emily smiled and then drove.

.

At the doctor's office Isabella was very nervous.

The first thing Emily told the doctor was that Isabella was sleeping quite a bit, especially after she went to check on her at home. They doctor said that was completely normal because of the medicines she had taken.

They took her for a CT scan of her lungs at the lab on the building next door and she did a blood test also, then headed back to the doctor's office. After a little bit of waiting the doctor went and told them that her lungs were way better and that she should be good as new in few days and Emily hugged Bella happily.

"Well, the other thing is her vitamin count" the doctor said and their smiled sort of faded. Emily knew exactly what that meant.

"Her vitamin B is still lower than it should be and she needs to take some now" the doctor said.

Isabella just hugged Emily, as her eyes filled with water but she fought not to cry.

"It's alright honey. They'll do it really fast" Emily said hugging the girl who bursted into tears.

"I don't want more shots mom" Isabella cried. She was really upset for having to get a shot and also for crying about it. She wasn't a crier, she never was. She never even cared about shots but now she felt like she couldn't control anything anymore.

"I know you don't baby. I sorry" Emily said sitting at a chair at the office and bringing Bella to her lap.

"I'm not sick. I'm fine" Isabella said sounding more angry than just upset.

"Sweetheart it will be very fast okay? And this is nothing like that other one you took" the doctor said thinking she could be acting like that thinking it was going to hurt like penicillin. "Okay? Come on" the doctor said getting close to her.

"No. I don't want to" Isabella said.

"Bella, don't do this. You never acted like this for shots honey. It's gonna be okay" Emily said.

"I'm not sick" Isabella said between her teeth.

"Miss prentiss we gotta do it" the doctor said and Bella tried getting off of her mother's lap but Emily held her tight.

"Bella don't." Emily said. "We don't want to hold you don't honey"

"Let me go. I'm not doing it." Bella said and the nurse that had the shot went inside the room.

"Come on honey" Emily said.

"No" Isabella said firmly.

"I don't want to hold you down but if I have to I will" Emily said also firm. She hated doing that but it was for Isabella's own good.

"Let me go" Isabella said and the nurse walked out for a minute and went back in followed by a male nurse and another female nurse.

"Look we can do this the easy way or the hard one. It's up to you" Emily said serious.

"I'm not doing it" Isabella said thru her teeth again.

Emily knew she wouldn't cooperate, so she signed to the nurse who went and picked Bella up . Isabella started crying and saying she wasn't going to do it. The male nurse carried her to the exam table and the three nurses managed to force her to lay down while Emily watched with her heart beating out of her chest.

"Mom!" She cried. "Mom I don't want to" she said and Emily walked to stay next to her.

One nurse was holding her legs hanging from the end of the table and the other two were holding her arms. One nurse pulled her pants down to show her thigh and she cried even more and started fighting even more to be let go. Emily went and held her chest down and one arm while the nurse moved to hold her tummy down in order for her not be able to move.

"You're gonna be alright" Emily kept saying trying to calm the crying child who was still trying to fight them off. The doctor went and gave her the shot on her left thigh and she cried really bad. The shot hurt, not like penicillin but it hurt. It stung quite a lot and everyone there knew that. Once they were done the nurses let go of her and walked out while Emily helped her down the table. Emily pulled Isabella pants up and hugged the girl who just cried.

"It's all done" Emily told her.

"Yeah sweetheart. It's over" the doctor said. "Alright so Miss Prentiss just keep making sure she's eating and in 3 days she'll need another blood test okay?"

"Okay" Emily said still hugging Bella who was calmer but was crying still.

"I'm thinking of taking her to Seattle this weekend, would that be okay?" Emily asked.

"Yeah sure. Just drink a lot of water on the plane to help your lungs okay young lady" the doctor said to Bella who just ignored.

"Well, alright than can I see you on Monday?" The doctor asked.

"Monday is great" Emily said.

Emily and the doctor shook hands and they left.

Isabella's leg was still hurting as they walked to the car and Emily could see that as the girl walked limping a bit.

"It's gonna go away soon baby" Emily said and Bella just ignored. Emily went in the car and Isabella sat on the back seat.

"Why are you riding on the back honey?" Emily asked confused.

"Leave me alone" Isabella said a bit angry and with a couple of tears still rolling. Emily ignored and started the car.

After about 10 minutes driving to JJ's house, Emily couldn't take that silence anymore.

"Look. There's no reason for you to be mad at me right now Bella." She said. "You know you had to take that."

"No I didn't" Isabella said angry.

"Yes you did. We don't want you to get even sicker and I'm sure you don't want that too" Emily said serious.

"I was fine. I was just fine..." Isabella started saying with her voice rising and Emily started slowing the car down. "...But than just like the other day you just held me down and let them give me that fucking thing" Isabella said loud and really angry.

"You do not talk to me like that" Emily said parking the car at the side of the road. Isabella froze and Emily turned to face Bella.

"You don't talk to me this way. Do you hear me?" Emily said serious and Isabella just looked out the window ignoring her.

Emily than started the car again and drove to Jennifer's. She didn't really want to go to JJ's but she knew that it would probably be a really bad idea to take Bella home like that.

The rest of the car ride was quiet.

When they got to JJ's house Isabella put on a brave face on and just walked beside Emily to the door.

"Hi. Come on in" JJ greeted them and they walked inside.

"Can I use the bathroom?" Isabella asked feeling her eyes starting to burn.

"Sure sweetie. It's right there" said JJ, pointing to a door on the left. Isabella walked to the bathroom and the two ladies went to the dining table where everyone was seated.

"Hi" Emily said.

"How was it?" Derek asked.

"Pandemonium" Emily said sitting down. "She hates me now" Emily added.

"Oh what happened?" JJ said placing a bowl of salsa on the table and than sitting down.

"She had to get a vitamin B shot and completely freaked out. 4 people had to hold her down" Emily said. "And than we had a little fight in the car" she added.

"She'll be alright. She's just upset" Derek said.

"Oh no. This time she's mad. There were cursing and everything" Emily said.

"My sugarplum wouldn't" Penelope said making a surprised face.

"Oh she did" Emily said smiling at her friends reaction.

While they talked a bit more about Isabella, the girl sat on the bathroom floor crying. Her leg was burning from the shot, she wanted to go home, and she was just sick of all of that. She blamed herself so much for running away and getting sick.

She stayed in the bathroom for a long time and everyone got a little worried so Derek went to check.

"Bella?" He called her, knocking on the door.

"I'll be out in a minute" she said and he could hear she had been crying so he just stood there waiting for her to go out.

"Hey" he said as she steeped out of the bathroom with really red eyes. "Come here princess" he said and wrapped his arms around the small girl. "Do you want to watch some tv?" He asked knowing she probably wouldn't want to stay with the grown ups.

"Yes" she whispered and he walked with her to the living room, which luckily for her didn't pass through the dining room where everyone was seated. Everyone, but Hotch and Rossi, were there.

So Isabella sat in the living room with Henry, who was watching a cartoon and playing with dinosaurs on the floor and Derek went back to the table.

"So. How is she?" JJ asked.

"Watching tv with Henry" Derek said. "But I'm pretty sure she was crying in the bathroom" he said and Emily nodded thinking about the fact that he was probably right.

"But she'll be alright" he said.

"Em. Do you really think it's a good idea taking her to Seattle tomorrow?" Penelope asked.

"I have to" Emily said.

"Did she talk to you about going?" Reid asked.

"She said it a couple times" she answered. "She'll be alright and if anything happens we'll come back. It's just a weekend" Emily said.

They talked and ate a bit more and than Derek decided to go check on Bella to see if she wanted to eat something.

When he got to the living room the girl was fast asleep in a very uncomfortable position on the couch. He picked her up knowing JJ would offer the girl a bed.

"Where should I put this one?" He asked smiling at the sleeping girl in his arms. Everyone smiled too and JJ told him to take her to the guest bedroom. So he did that and put her on the bed than went back to the table.

"She has been sleeping so much" Emily said still a bit concern about that.

"Did you tell the doctor?" JJ asked.

"Yeah. She said its from the meds." Emily answered.

"She's probably just catching up on the sleep she lost." Penelope said.

"Yeah" Emily said and they started talking about work. 

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After a while, everyone was done eating and was just sitting there talking about work.

Isabella woke up from a nightmare and when she opened her eyes she was already crying. She went to the bathroom and washed her face. Her leg was still burning a bit and it felt sore, it was nothing like penicillin but it did hurt.

She washed her face and than walked to the dining room.

She wanted to go home.

"Mom?" She said shyly as she walked in the dining room. Emily looked at the girl and knew exactly what had happened.

"Come here" she said softly and the kid walked to her. Emily made Bella sit on her lap and the girl shyly said "I want to go home" and than just rested her head on her moms chest.

"Okay. I'll take you home" Emily said softly.

"Well, I'm a little tired and would so love a car ride" Penelope said a little excited trying to change the concern mood in the room.

"You're more than welcome to join" Emily said knowing what her friend was doing.

"Alright. So let's go?" Emily asked Bella who stood up but didn't let go of her. Isabella was mad at Emily for holding her down like that but she was scared and apparently her mother was the only one that was able to calm her a bit down somehow.

"So I'll see you guys on Monday" Emily said.

"Yeah" JJ said. "Have fun in Seattle guys" she said smiling at Bella who just ignored it and looked away.

Emily made a face at JJ noticing what the girl had done and then they finished with goodbyes and left.

In the car Bella sat on the back seat and Penelope on the front with Emily.

"So I'll meet you guys at the airport tomorrow at 8:30?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah. The flight's at 10" Emily said.

"Alright" Penelope said. "Are you excited B?" She asked the girl.

"Not really" Isabella said honestly.

"Oh. It's gonna be fun. You'll see" Penelope said and than there was silence in the car till they dropped Penelope off. Emily saw Bella was silently crying on the back seat after Penelope left.

"Are you okay honey?" Emily asked a bit afraid the girl would blow up on her again.

"I'm fine" Bella said wiping her face. "I'm just.. Scared" she said. "But I'm fine so don't worry" she added.

"Alright" that was all Emily said knowing the kid didn't want to talk and impressed she actually told she was scared.

The rest of the ride was just as quiet as before.

When they got to the apartment, both went to take a shower. After the shower Bella got her book from the night stand and sat on the floor to read. But she didn't seem to be able to concentrate. The thoughts about going to Seattle and that stupid pain on her leg wouldn't leave her alone. When she saw she was already in tears and more and more just kept rolling. It seemed like her leg was hurting more after the shower. But it was a weird pain. She felt like screaming of frustration.

Out of nowhere Emily walked in to find Bella on the floor in tears.

"Oh honey" Emily said waking fast towards the girl. Bella went on her knee and opened her arms as her mother went down to hug her. They hugged and Bella just cried.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

"My leg hurts and I don't know if I can go to Seattle mom" she cried.

"It's going to go away soon honey. And don't worry about Seattle okay? I'm gonna be right there and Penelope is gonna be there. There's nothing to worry about. Okay?" Emily said and Bella just cried.

"Look at me honey" she told the girl and Bella looked at her. Emily wiped a tear away and said "we'll go slow there okay?".

Isabella nodded and just stared at her mother's eyes.

"Come on. Lay down in bed" Emily said and they got up. Isabella laid down and Emily tucked her in.

"It's going to be fun you'll see. You're gonna see everybody and we could go around town if you want to. Okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said almost a whisper. Emily kissed her forehead and said goodnight.

"Goodnight" the girl replied and turned to the side and Emily went to her own bedroom to sleep too.

Emily laid in bed and not even 10 minutes later Isabella appeared on the door.

"Mom?" She said embarrassed. Emily looked at her and knew what she wanted.

"Come here" she said pulling the cover down from one side of the bed. Isabella got up there and just hugged her mother and started crying again. She hated she couldn't control it around Emily.

"I'm sorry" she said. "I'm sorry for talking like that" she cried. "I shouldn't have."

"Okay." Emily said forgiving the girl. "You promise you won't do it again?"

"Yeah I swear I won't. I'm sorry" Isabella said.

"Okay. It's okay" Emily said. "Let's sleep now baby. We gotta wake up early." Emily said and they snuggled together and it wasn't long till they fell asleep.


	45. Chapter 45: In Seattle

**(Saturday)**

It was a little over 7 when Emily woke up and checked her phone for the time. She woke Isabella up and both women went to brush their teeth and wash their face than headed downstairs. They ate breakfast and Emily thought that couldn't have gone better. Isabella was in a better mood than the day before and ate everything without complaining at all.

After breakfast they went to get ready.

"I'm all done" Isabella said walking in to Emily's bedroom.

Emily was getting a coat. "I'm done too" she said and walked out of the closet.

"Mom?" Bella said a bit embarrassed. "I'm really sorry for being mean to you yesterday and for the thing at the doctor" she said. Emily grabbed her hand and guided her to the bed where they both sat.

"Look. I won't accept you talking to me that way but I know you were scared at the doctors. So you don't have to apologize for that okay?" She said serious.

"I'm sorry I sort of blew up" Bella said. "I was angry because I didn't want you to hold me down"

"But Bella you wouldn't let them do it baby" Emily said and Bella looked down at the floor. "Look. Let's not worry about that anymore okay? It's over. It's done" Emily said.

"But what if on Monday I need to get another one?" Isabella asked. "You won't hold me down will you?"

"I won't honey. But you need to let them do it okay?" Emily said.

"Can Derek go?" Isabella asked. "Morgan?" Emily asked. "Why do you want him to go?"

"Because I don't mind him holding me down, I just don't want you to do it. I just want you to hug me afterwards" Bella said.

"Okay" Emily let out a little smile. "I'm sure he'll go if the team doesn't have a case"

"Okay. Can you ask him?" Bella asked.

"Sure. I'll call him" Emily said. "But now let's go or we're going to be late." Emily told her and they left.

They met Penelope at the check-in line and by the time they got done it was already boarding so they went in. The three sat next to each other, Bella between them, and it wasn't long till the plane took off.

"Excited, b?" Penelope asked and Bella smiled. She was excited but she was also very very nervous.

The flight was great. Bella feel asleep and woke up when they were about to land. When they got there Emily rented a car and they headed to the hotel.

"we are all sharing a room, right?" Isabella asked Penelope.

"Well, we weren't but if you wan-" Emily said.

"I do" Isabella interrupted her.

"Is that alright Garcia?" Emily asked smiling at Penelope.

"More than alright" Penelope smiled and hugged Bella. So they checked in and went up to their room. They got everything settled and while Emily went to the bathroom Isabella turned the tv on and laid in bed. After a while Emily got out and saw the girl.

"Hey. We didn't came to watch tv here. Come on. We're going out" Emily said and she saw Isabella's face change. She looked scared.

"Bella" Emily said walking over to the side of the bed to sit beside the girl. Before she sat down the girl jumped and hugged her. She wasn't crying but she was upset.

"Oh Bells" Emily said.

"I just miss him. And I ummn I didn't think I was gonna feel like this when I got here" Isabella said.

"Look. How about we stay here for just a little while than?" Emily said. She didn't want to rush the girl.

"Okay" Isabella said letting go of her mother and laying in bed.

"How about some room service?" Emily said.

"Sure" Isabella said.

"So how about ice cream buttercup?" Penelope asked excited.

"Sure" Bella laughed at the excitement of the woman and Emily smiled.

The girl's laugh, oh she could hear that all day.

They ordered burgers and ice cream, ate and than they all laid to watch a movie.

"So we'll go out after this movie right?" Penelope asked Bella. She noticed Emily wasn't pushing much.

"Yeah. That's fine" Bella said.

"Yeah?" Emily smiled.

"Yeah. Maybe a museum?" Bella said.

"You get out of DC and you want to go to a museum?" Penelope said. "Girl, we gotta do something more seattlely" Penelope said and Bella smiled.

"So you pick than but now I want to watch that" Bella said pointing to the tv screen that had 'The Amazing Spider-Man' written on it. So they payed attention to the movie.

.

Not even half an hour in and Bella was already out.

"I can see how much she wanted to watch that" Emily joked and Penelope smiled. They talked a bit about what the plans for the trip were.

Almost at the end of the movie Isabella jumped awake in bed with tears running down her face. Emily, who was getting water at the minibar ran to the bed and hugged the crying girl.

"I wanna go home" Isabella cried and Penelope went and sat on the bed with them. "I wanna go back" she cried.

"Oh munchkin. It's gonna be alright" Penelope said.

"Yeah honey" Emily said.

"No. I wanna go" Bella cried. "I can't do this mom I can't" she said still hugging Emily.

"Honey you can I know you can." Emily said.

"I miss him too much" the girl cried and just started at her mother.

"I know you do honey" Emily said and wiped tears off Bella's cheek.

"I just want to go home with you. Just you" Bella said and at the moment Emily realized.

"Bells. What was you nightmare about?" Emily asked and Penelope just stared at her not really understanding why she was asking that.

"I don't want to talk about it. I just wanna go home" Bella said.

"Was it about Jeremy?" Emily said and she could she the confirmation on Isabella's face. "It was about your brother right? About what you asked me?" Emily said.

"What did she ask you?" Penelope asked confused and Bella just stared at Emily.

"She asked if he could take her away from me?" Emily said.

"He can't? Can he?" Bella asked with more tears coming out and the fear visible on her face.

"No. He cannot" Emily said looking right at Isabella's eyes. "No one is taking you away from me" she said serious. Penelope was heartbroken that that was what the girl was so scared about.

"Do you promise?" Bella said.

"I do" Emily said and hugged the girl. They just hugged till the child calmed down than Bella washed her face and drank some water.

She sat with Penelope and than Emily's phone rang.

"Hello?" She said not recognizing the number.

"Hi. It's me Jeremy." He said.

"Oh hi" Emily said.

"I'm just calling to let you guys know that diners at 8." He said.

"Oh alright."

"You guys will come right?" He asked.

"Sure. We'll be there" Emily said. She knew they had to go.

"Okay. So we'll be waiting" Jeremy said. "See you later"

"Alright. See you later" Emily said and hung up.

"Who was that?" Bella asked.

"Your brother" Emily said. "Dinner at his place at 8"

"Do we have to go?" Isabella asked not excited at all.

"We do honey" Emily said. She knew that he would be upset if they didn't went and after his fight with Bella about living with him she didn't want to give him any more reasons to doubt her caring for the child.

The three women just chilled at the hotel and when it was 7 they got ready and headed out.

Isabella was really nervous but she put her brave face on and just went with it.

In the car Emily and Penelope could see the girl on the back with wondering eyes looking out the window, she seemed tense.

"Bella are you okay?" Emily asked.

"I'm fine" said the girl without taking her eyes off the streets. Emily looked at Penelope as a way of saying for her to just leave it like that and not comment on it. So they did.

.

When they got to Jeremy's house they walked out of the car and Bella went straight for her mother's hand. Emily could feel her baby's hand sweating. She gave Bella's hand a squeeze and said "there's nothing to worry about. I'm right here" and they walked to the door.

"Hi. Come on in" Jeremy said when he opened the door. They went in and greeted him and Marley and went to the living room to talk while Marley was finishing dinner.

Isabella sat next to Emily on the couch and petted Bear who ran to her and sat on her feet.

Jeremy just asked how she was doing and their plans for the next day and things like that. After talking they went to eat.

Bella was really tensed since the moment she walked in the house. Emily could see that, even though the girl was trying hard to hide it.

The dinner went okay, Bella ate without complaints and Jeremy seemed happy she seemed to be back to her "normal" self.

After eating they went back to the living room to talk some more and while the adults sat on the couch, Isabella sat on the floor with bear. After a little while she went and sat next to Emily. Emily noticed the girl seemed very tired.

"Are you sleepy honey?" Emily asked to the girl, almost whispering.

"Yeah." Bella said. "But uhmn... Can we go to Derek's house?" Isabella asked.

"Sure" Emily said surprised the girl wanted to do that. They said goodbyes and talked about meeting sometime the next day before they went back to DC than they left.

Jeremy didn't want Bella to leave. He missed her so much, he wanted her to spend the night there or even stay with him for a couple of days. When they left all he could think was how much he wanted her there with him.

Losing his dad was really hard for him and all he could think about was that he was going to lose his little sister too, and he was scared.

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On the way to Derek's house, Isabella was feeling sick. She hated going over to Jeremy's for dinner, she felt like never doing that again. She started thinking about the dinner and more and more thoughts about things Jeremy said creeped on scaring her that he was going to make her stay. Her breathing started getting heavier, her face started to burn and she could feel hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Mom?" Bella said. Emily looked through the mirror.

"I can't breathe" Isabella said fighting to take a breath when she saw her mother's face staring at her in the mirror.

Emily parked on the side of the rode fast. Penelope jumped on the back.

"Come here" Garcia told the girl. Isabella took her seat belt off and hugged Penelope.

"Mom" Bella cried.

"I'm right here" Emily said grabbing the girl's hand. "Let's go to the hotel okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said not letting go of Penelope and still trying to breathe right. Emily started the car again and drove to the hotel.

Once they got there Isabella had cried herself to sleep hugging Penelope.

"Baby, wake up. We're here" Emily said after she opened the backseat door. Isabella opened her eyes and with Emily's help went out of the car. Emily held her hand as they went up to their room. Isabella seemed half asleep walking through the hotel.

Once they got to their room, Bella walked in first and just laid down on the bed without even taking her shoes off. Penelope went for a glass of water and Emily to the bathroom. When Emily got out she looked at the bed and the girl was fast asleep. She sat and took the child's shoes off and covered her up. She kissed her forehead and said "I love you". Than she told Penelope she was going to take a shower and if Bella woke up to just knock on the door. She showered fast while Penelope watched some tv and couldn't help but stare at the sleeping girl from time to time. When Emily went out, Penelope went in to shower. Emily had a glass of water than sat on the bed next to the girl and started watching some tv. Once Penelope got back the started talking about Bella. They talked about how scared she was and Penelope asked a million times if Jeremy could try to get her. Emily just told her he wouldn't.

"Garcia he knows what his father wanted. He wouldn't do that to Bella" Emily said trying hard to believe in those words but the truth was that she was scared too.

They talked some more about the plans for the next day and about Emily going back to work on Tuesday. After all the talking it was really late at night so they decided to go to sleep. Emily grabbed Isabella's hand and just stared at her sleeping daughter till she fell asleep.

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 **(Sunday)**

Isabella was the first one to wake up a little over 7 am. She got out of bed quietly so she wouldn't wake her mother and grabbed some clothes from her suitcase and went to take a shower. She took a hot and long one. When she was done she wrapped a towel on her head and got dressed. When she entered the room both woman were awake talking.

"Good morning" Emily said with a smile. "We ordered breakfast" she told the girl.

"Morning guys" Bella said and got a comb out of her bag. She started doing her hair and Emily went for a shower and after that Penelope went. It was perfect timing for the food to arrive. They ate and actually had a good and relaxed breakfast.

"So Bella. I was thinking about we go to the apartment this morning and then we could stop by the hospital to see everyone. What do you think?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said tensing up a little.

"Look. If you don't want to go that's okay" Emily said.

"No. I do want to, mom. I just..." Bella said and took a deep breath.

"You're scared" Emily finished.

"Yeah" Bella confirmed.

"We'll be right there with you" Emily said and hugged the girl. They picked up their things and head out. The car ride to the apartment was fine. Penelope sat with Bella on the back just in case. The girl looked tense and scared but she wasn't crying and was acting okay despite the fact she was trying to hide her tenseness.

When they got to the building Bella grabbed Penelope's hand while Emily parked the car.

"You'll be alright pumpkin" Penelope assured the girl.

They went out and Isabella took her mother's hand. They went up, Emily opened the door and got in, Bella one step behind still holding her hand tight.

Isabella could feel her legs slightly shaking. She looked around and everything was exactly like they left. She walked to the office and opened the door. Seeing her dad's desk made her eyes get teary and made her tense even more. Emily felt it and threw one arm over the girl's shoulder.

"I want dad's hard drive" Bella said. "He kept in the drawer" she said and Emily let go of her and she walked to get it. When she opened the last drawer of the desk there it was.

"He kept pictures in this" Isabella explained to the women as she saw both staring at her with a wondering face.

"Anything else from here?" Emily asked as the girl walked to her.

"I don't think I'm ready to go thru things mom" Isabella said honestly.

"You don't have to." Emily said. "If you have something in mind that you want to take just go get it. There's no need of going through everything now" Emily told the girl who gave her a nod.

"Can I go to his bedroom?" Isabella asked. Emily could see she was scared but she wanted to do it.

"Of course. Let's go" Emily said and they walked upstairs. When they got to the door Bella said she wanted to go in alone.

"Are you sure honey?" Emily asked trying not to look to concerned.

"Yes" Bella said. "You can wait in my room"

"Okay" Emily said. "Anything just call for us" Emily said and went with Penelope to Isabella's bedroom. Emily was so nervous too. All she could think was that the girl wasn't strong enough for that and she was putting herself up for a major break down.

.

Isabella took a while to open the door. She had to tell herself in her head over and over that she was okay and that she would be okay.

She opened the door and her eyes went straight to the family picture on the nightstand. She could feel her heart pounding. She walked to it and tears started to fall but a small smiled appeared. She smiled at the happy faces on the picture, hers, her brother's and her dad's, in a group hug. She wiped her face and walked to the closet. She saw a navy blue hoodie her dad used to wear all the time sitting in one of the shelved all tangled up. She remembered her dad had worn it the day before he died. She picked it up and smelled it. She felt her whole body shake as the scent of her dad went on her nose. More tears started rolling. She felt sick. She felt like her entire body was going to explode. She sat on the floor and just hugged the hoodie as many tears fell but no sound was made. She managed to get a bit calmer after a while and her eyes just wondered the closet. Suddenly she spotted her dad's favorite tie. A black one with white lines, he wore it all the time when they went out. She stood up and grabbed the tie. Than she walked back to the room and picked up the picture in the nightstand. She saw his bag in the couch at the corner of the room. She walked to it and picked it up. She sat on the floor and placed it in front of her. She opened it and his 2 lucky scrub caps were there, his name tag from the hospital and other work things. She had stopped crying so she wiped her face and than managed to fit the picture and the tie in there. She stood up with the bag in one hand and the hoodie on the other. She walked out of the bedroom and headed to hers to find both women sitting on the bed. Emily stood up as soon as he girl walked in.

"Are you okay?" She asked noticing Isabella's red face.

"I'm fine." She said and took a deep breath. "And I wanna go now" she said serious and trying hard not to cry. She walked out of the room without letting one tear drop and the women followed her down the stairs.

"Do you want me to carry that?" Emily asked Bella as she noticed the bag seemed quite heavy.

"No. It's fine" Isabella said walking to the door. They went back to the car.

"Whenever you want to come back I'll bring you, okay?" Emily told the girl.

"Okay" Isabella said tightening her grip on her father's hoodie.

"Alright. So what now?" Penelope asked normally trying to light up the mood a bit.

"Can we go back to the hotel for a little while?" Isabella asked.

"Sure" Emily said. She knew what the kid had just done was a big and brave step and she deserved a little break. So they headed back.

At the hotel Isabella put the bag and the hoodie next to her suitcase and laid in bed.

"Are you alright pumpkin?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah. I'm just tired" Isabella said.

"You can sleep a little. We'll wake you when it's lunch time" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella gave her mom a little smile and turned to the side facing Penelope's bed. It wasn't long till she fell asleep leaving her mother and Penelope to talk about all that happened.

"She's so tough" Penelope said.

"I seriously thought I would have to carry a crying child back to the car" Emily said.

"Yeah. I can't believe how brave she was" Penelope said.

"Yeah" Emily smiled at the sleeping girl.

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It was a little over 12 when Emily woke Isabella to eat. They went to the hotel's restaurant and the lunch went great. The girl seemed fine.

After lunch was done they headed to the hospital. Bella walked in holding Emily's hand very tightly. They were greeted by Derek Shepherd. Bella gave him a big hug and they went inside to his research office. Bella was nervous to be at that hospital again but she wanted to see everyone, she missed them.

Shortly after they got there Callie ran in the room and gave Bella a big hug.

"Oh my god. I missed you so much" Callie said while hugging her than let go.

"Me too" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"Oh baby don't cry" Callie said and hugged her again. Suddenly Alex walked in.

"Oh we have visitors" he said walking to hug her.

"Hi" Bella smiled at him.

"How's DC kid?" He asked her.

"Good" she smiled happy to see them.

As the time went by she got a chance to see pretty much everyone. It was almost 6 when they left the hospital. Bella loved seeing everyone but she was tired of saying that she was okay and that DC was great and fun and how she was doing at school and all of that.

They said goodbye to Callie, who said she would try to go to DC to visit. Than to Meredith and Shepherd who promised to take the kids there sometime soon and than they left.

They stopped by the hotel to get their things and headed to the airport. Isabella wouldn't let go of her dad's bag and she placed the hoodie on the backpack she had taken.

The flight home was good but no one could really sleep so they watched movies. When they got in DC Emily drove Penelope home.

"Thank you for coming with us" Isabella said smiling.

"You're welcome bunny" Penelope said happily.

"Next time you promise we'll go to the tower, right?" Penelope said.

"Yes" Bella said.

"Alright. Have a good night guys" Penelope told them.

"You too" Emily said and Penelope walked to her door and Emily drove away.

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When they got home it was late at night, they were both tired so Emily told Bella to leave the suitcase in the car and they would get it the next day. So Bella only took her backpack and John's bag.

"Hey. Let me help you" Emily said grabbing the backpack and they went up.

Isabella stood there behind her mother, anxiously waiting as Emily opened the door. It felt like an eternity but Emily opened it and they walked inside. Bella passed her mother and Emily turned to close the door. Isabella just stood there, and when Emily turned around she saw her daughter's back frozen on spot. She put her hand on the girl's back and she felt Isabella's body just letting go, as sob came out and the girl just broke down.

"Let the bag down baby. Come here" Emily said and Bella gave it to her mother who put it on the floor than just hugged her.

"It's okay. We're home now" Emily said and the girl just kept crying. "Come here" she said and picked the crying girl up. "I'll take you upstairs" she said. Emily carried Bella to her bedroom and they both laid in bed.

"I'm going to stay right here with you alright?" Emily told the girl.

"Okay" Bella said between sobs and Emily hugged her tighter.

"Mommy is right here" Emily told the girl.

Isabella cried herself to sleep that night. Emily's heart was broken from seeing the girl so sad. She watched the girl sleep peacefully for a while and than fell asleep too.

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 **(Monday)**

Emily woke up and Bella was asleep next to her gripping her shirt. She had thought about taking Bella to school on Monday but after the previous day she thought the girl deserved some more time. And also she had a check up around lunch time.

Emily stayed in bed till Bella woke up at 10. They headed for breakfast and than got ready for the doctors appointment.

"Did you ask Derek?" Isabella asked Emily.

"I will now" Emily said.

"Mom!" Bella said worried.

"They are at the office baby. I'm sure he'll go" Emily said and walked to get her phone. She called him and he said he would meet them there, she told Bella that and they left.

At the doctors office Bella was scared but she was glad Morgan was there. She felt safer with that big man next to her. She knew he would protect her from anything.

"So how are you feeling today?" The doctor asked Bella.

"Good" the girl said.

"In fact you do look way better" the doctor said. Isabella had to do another blood test and than she got everything else checked while waiting for the results.

"I have good news for you my friend" the doctor said. "You're all better. Everything came back normal and yes you do have some congestion but otherwise you are perfect" she said.

"So no shots?" Isabella asked hopeful.

"No shots" the doctor said and everyone smiled. "You're good to go"

"Thank you" Emily said.

"I hope I don't see you in a long long time alright?" The doctor said.

"Alright" Bella smiled and they left.

"Are you happy kid?" Derek asked as they walked holding hands.

"Yeah" she said and her voice came out thick because of the tears that were about to fall.

"Oh honey" Emily said.

"Come here princess" Derek said and hugged her. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

"Yeah. I'm just happy it's over" Bella said wiping her face and Emily smiled. Derek picked her up and they went to the Emily's car.

"So I'll see you guys tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'll be back at work and we'll see if school is a possibility" Emily told him.

"Right Bella?" Emily asked the girl who sat on the back.

"Right" Isabella said not sounding very excited.

"Alright so I see you two then" Derek said.

"Bye" Bella said and he left.

Emily drove back to the house and the rest of the day went fine. Chloe went over after school with homework and they did it together, they talked about Bella going back to school and she said she would go the next day since her mother would have to go to work. After they were done with homework they watched an episode of Doctor Who and then Chloe left. Bella stayed in the living room while Emily cooked dinner then they ate and Bella went up to her room to read a book.

It was almost 10 when Emily went up and told Bella to get ready for bed. The girl showered and put her pajamas on, she laid in bed but couldn't really sleep. She thought about going downstairs and getting her dad's bag or his hoodie but she decided not to. She went to Emily's bedroom instead.

"Mom?" She said softly and embarrassed.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" She asked.

"Of course, come here" Emily said and Bella laid next to her in bed.

"Mom?" Bella said and stared at her mother. "I'm scared" she said serious.

"What are you scared of?" Emily asked also serious.

"I don't know. It's just that feeling all the time" Bella said.

"It will go away baby" Emily said and hugged her.

"But when mom? When?" She asked now crying. "I just miss him so bad" she cried.

"I know you do. I know" Emily said.

"And it's all the time. It's all the time" Bella said. Emily hated seeing her girl like that, she wished she could do more, she wished she still had the power to make Bella feel better with just a warm hug and a kiss.

They kept hugging and once again Bella cried herself to sleep.

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 **(Tuesday)**

What a horrible night that was.

Isabella had two nightmares and cried herself back to sleep hugging her mother both times. When it was time to wake up to go to school she was exhausted.

Emily woke her up and she started crying and asked not to go. Emily didn't feel like forcing her and just one more day wouldn't change much so she said she didn't have to go but the next day she would have to. Isabella agreed.

They got ready, had breakfast and headed to the office. Luckily Emily didn't get a case that day.

Bella spent most of the day watching movies or sleeping at Penelope lair. They went home around 7, stopping by chick-fil-a to get dinner. At home they ate, showered, sat to watch some tv together than at 10:30 Emily told Bella she should go to bed because it was a school night. She went up with the girl and tucked her in. It didn't take long for Bella to sleep that day. Emily worked on some paperwork she had and than headed to bed too.

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 **(Wednesday)**

It was 6:30 when the alarm clock went off waking Emily and Isabella.

"Good morning" said Emily to the girl who just turned around not to face her mother.

"Hey you are going to school today" Emily said before the girl could ask not to.

"I know" Isabella said not sounding very excited.

"Come on then" Emily said sitting on the bed. Bella sat and hugged Emily.

"Be safe okay?" Isabella said.

"Always" Emily told the girl and let go of the hug.

"And good morning" Bella said with a little smile.

"Good morning bells" Emily smiled. "Let's go" she said and they got out of bed to get ready. Both took a quick shower and got dressed. Emily finished first and headed to the kitchen. She made scrambled eggs for Bella and fixed herself some coffee. After a while Bella went down all ready. She sat and ate her food and Emily poured some orange juice for her. She ate everything not even saying a word about the food. Emily was proud and very happy the food situation was getting better and better.

"I'm gonna brush my teeth" Bella said and headed upstairs to her bathroom. She brushed her teeth, got her bag and went down.

"All ready?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. She sounded normal but Emily could see she was a bit nervous.

They went to the car and Emily started driving. After a lot of silence Emily said:

"Honey. Anything just call okay?" She knew the kid was nervous.

"Okay" Bella said staring out the window. Emily placed her hand on the young girl's hand.

"You're gonna be fine bells" Emily said.

"I know" Bella said and Emily parked the car at the school. Chloe was standing close to a bench on the side of the stairs and Gavin was sitting on it. They saw Emily's car and their face light up.

"Look. Your friends missed you" Emily said pointing to the kids on the bench and Bella smiled.

"Go and have fun. Okay?" Emily said smiling. Isabella hugged her tight.

"Be safe okay?" Bella said not letting go of the hug.

"You too" Emily said tightening the hug.

"I love you mommy" Bella said almost whispering.

"I love you too baby" Emily said and the bell rang. Isabella let go of the hug and said bye and ran out to her friends.

"I'm so glad you're back" Gavin said and Bella smiled. They walked up the stairs and as always Bella looked back at the parking lot. She smiled at the sight of Emily's car and then walked in.

School went great that day. No bullying or anything like that. Bella was pretty much happy to be back around her friends. She was a bit nervous about her mom being back at work and everything but she was trying hard to push those thoughts away. After school she took the bus with Gavin to the office, and got there just in time to say goodbye to her mom as the team left for Fresno, California.

"We gotta a case honey" Emily said as she saw the girl surprised face when the elevator's door opened revealing the entire team inside. Emily walked to her and hugged her.

"Be safe" Bella said.

"I will" Emily said and smiled, surprise at how fine Bella seemed with it all. Everyone was smiling at them.

"Prentiss" Hotch said and Emily looked at him knowing she had to go.

"I'll call you okay?" Emily told Bella who just nodded. "Go find Garcia" Emily said.

"Okay. Bye" Bella smiled and everyone smiled at her and said bye and they left so she just waited for the elevator again and went up.

.

"So. She seems better" Derek said as he started the car.

"I'm actually surprised that she didn't start crying when I said we were leaving to California" Emily said.

"Me too" JJ said.

"She's tough" Derek said.

"Yeah" Emily agreed.


	46. Chapter 46: Unexpected

…

At the office Isabella went straight to Penelope's office.

"Hello" she said and the woman turned around on her chair.

"Hey peanut" Penelope said.

"Hey" Bella said.

"Your mom just left" she said with a sad face.

"I know. I saw them" Bella said.

"Come here I want a hug" Penelope said and Isabella went and hugged her.

"How was school?" Garcia asked.

" fine" Isabella said looking surprised and walking to the couch.

"Good" Penelope smiled. "Do you have a lot of homework?" She asked as Bella sat on the couch.

"Not that much" Bella said pulling out a folder.

Bella did her homework and then watched movies on her iPad and just hung out with Penelope all day really.

The team called at night at 12:45.

"So.. Garcia's house or Prentiss's house?" Penelope asked.

"Garcia's is fine" Bella smiled.

"Are you sure?" Penelope asked actually surprised the girl chose that.

"Yeah. We can stay at my house tomorrow probably" Bella said knowing that they probably wouldn't catch the unsub the next day with the way things were going. She did her things at the office but she was always paying attention to the cases. She couldn't help it.

So they went to Penelope's house, showered and went to bed. Isabella was so tired that she fell asleep impressively fast. Penelope stared at the girl for some time, happy she looked better and didn't seem so afraid anymore. After a while she fell asleep too.

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 **(Thursday)**

"Good morning sunshine" Penelope said as Isabella opened her eyes.

"Hi" Bella whispered and hugged Penelope who smiled really big.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Penelope asked.

"Pancakes?" Bella asked.

"Pancakes it is" Garcia said smiling. They got up and got ready and then had breakfast. Penelope drove Bella to school and told her to go to the office afterwards.

The day at school went fine. They were released 20 minutes earlier from their art class because the teacher had a doctors appointment, so they sat on the bench close to the big steps outside the school. Isabella was sitting facing the concrete floor where some parents and nannies were waiting for all the kids to come out. After a while the bell rang and Chloe went inside to get Millie, and Gavin and Bella went to the bus.

At the office she went to Penelope's office and the woman was really busy and barely talked to her. So she went to her mother's desk and stayed there doing homework, then she read a book she found at Reid's desk, and then just watched a couple of episodes of Doctor who on her iPad.

It was past 11 when Penelope walked behind her and said they were going home. The girl was almost asleep on her mother's chair.

"Can we go to your house again?" Isabella asked.

"My house?" Penelope asked surprised and the girl nodded. "Of course we can" Penelope said and they left. Isabella actually really liked Penelope's house. It was so colorful and bright. She felt like it was such a happy place and Penelope just seemed to have happy powers. She really loved her perky aunt.

The night went great. They ate Mac and cheese for dinner then showered and both went to bed. They were exhausted.

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In Fresno Emily found it hard to sleep that night. The case was tough this time, it was involving kids and that was always hard but with Bella living with her it seemed like it got even harder. She could do the work fine but the moment she got to the hotel her mind flooded with thoughts of her daughter getting hurt like the victims. She had to force herself not to call to check on Bella every 30 minutes.

That night she couldn't help it. It was 12:26 when she got her phone and dialed Isabella's phone.

Penelope heard and got up to answer and saw Emily's face in it and the word 'mom' on the top.

"Emily?" She said.

"Hi. I'm sorry I'm calling so late" Emily said.

"Oh no it's fine. Do you want to talk to your baby?" Penelope asked knowing that was exactly why the woman was calling.

"Yeah. Is she asleep?" Emily said.

"Oh she won't mind waking up to talk to you" Penelope said already waking Bella up. "Belle! Your mom's on the phone" she said and the girl sat up.

"Mom?" Bella said sleepy. "Is everything okay?" She asked worried.

"Everything is fine bells" Emily said taking a deep breath as her baby's voice filled her ears. "I just needed to hear your voice"

"Oh. Hi" Bella said also glad to hear her mother's voice.

"So how is everything there? Are you alright hanging out with Garcia?" Emily asked.

"Yeah." Bella said and Emily just stayed quiet. "Mom, are you sure you're okay?" Bella asked.

"Yeah baby. It was just a hard day" Emily said. "But I'll see you soon okay?"

"Okay" Bella said. "Goodnight mom"

"Goodnight bells" Emily said smiling.

"I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily said.

"Be safe" Bella added fast.

"Always." Emily said. "Bye"

They hung up. Isabella smiled at Penelope who placed the phone on the nightstand and then laid in bed again. Bella squeezed in closer to the woman and they fell back asleep shortly.

In the hotel Emily felt like she could finally breathe knowing her baby was safe at home with her favorite aunt. She could finally sleep.

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 **(Friday)**

The morning went okay.

"How about iHop today young lady?" Penelope asked the girl who smiled and said "greatest idea you've ever had" so they went to iHop and had a great time there. After eating Penelope dropped Bella off at school and headed to work.

At school Bella had another good day up until lunch time. Her friends headed to the table and she went to get a Coke from the vending machine.

"Hey shrimpy" came one of those girls. They started talking about how she still looked sick and that she shouldn't be at school and a bunch of other stupid things. Bella just stood there and took it.

"Are you done?" Isabella asked them after they stopped talking. They laughed and left.

She hated those girls so bad but as long as they weren't talking about her parents she was fine, she could take it. So she went back to the table.

"What happened there?" Gavin asked.

"Nothing. It's just... Oh lord. Those girls are just.. So stupid" Bella said.

"Agreed" Chloe said and they laughed.

Suddenly Bella's phone rang. It was Emily.

"Hi mom" Bella said answering.

"Hi baby. How's everything?" Emily said.

"Good. We're just having lunch now" Bella said.

"Oh say hi to your friends" Emily said.

"Mom says hi guys" Bella said and took the phone out of her ear and her friends said together "hello Emily" and bursted into laughter. Emily's heart melted as Bella put the phone back in her ear and her laughter filled her ears.

"Take care baby. I gotta go. I just wanted to check on you" Emily said smiling.

"Okay. Will you be home tonight?" Bella asked.

"I don't know yet. This one is a bit more complicated" Emily said.

"Alright. Just make sure you're safe" Bella said.

"I will baby. And you too okay?" Emily said.

"I will" Bella said.

"Bye bells"

"Bye mom" Bella said and they hung up.

Emily smiled realizing how many times Bella had told her to be safe in the last couple days.

"Is she coming home tonight?" Chloe asked.

"She doesn't know yet" Bella said making a face.

"She'll be back soon" Gavin said.

"I know" Bella said.

They went back to eating and when the bell rang they headed to class. The rest of the day went great. She headed to the office and just hung out at Penelope's office all day. She did her homework and watched a movie, she had a snack with Penelope than she finished reading Reid's book and than fell asleep on the couch. Penelope woke her up at 8:34pm to go home.

"We're done here" Penelope told her.

"They're coming back?" Bella asked excited but still sleepy.

"Yup. They just went to the jet" Penelope told the girl.

"Good" Bella said.

"Come on. We're heading to your house" Penelope said and they got their things and left.

At home Bella took a good and long shower than headed downstairs. She found Penelope in pajamas cooking something.

"What is this smell?" Bella said making a face as it was the greatest smell in the world. She also had pajamas, long sleeves as always but shorts this time, and her hair was down and wet.

"We are having my special chicken sandwich for dinner" Penelope said.

"That sounds good" Bella said heading to the bathroom. She put her hair on a half up than headed to the couch. It wasn't long till Penelope called for her. Both women sat on the island and ate the sandwich, which Bella really loved it.

"You should make this every week" Bella said and Penelope laughed.

"I'm glad you liked it munchkin" Penelope said proudly. They finished eating, put everything away and headed to watch tv in the living room.

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Emily got home at 1:26am and found both girls passed out on the couch. She woke Bella up. She needed to just hold her baby. Penelope woke up too.

"Oh sorry. We fell asleep" Penelope apologized really fast.

"It's alright. It's really late already" Emily said soothing Bella's hair as the girl closed her eyes back again.

"Come on I'll take you up" Emily said.

"I can walk fine mom" Bella said sitting up.

"Come on. I need this today" Emily told the girl and picked her up. Emily headed to her own room and placed Bella on the bed, who didn't even move.

"So I'll stay on hers. Goodnight" Penelope said.

"Goodnight" Emily smiled at her friend who was almost asleep too. "And thank you Garcia"

"Anytime" Penelope said smiling and headed to bed.

Emily showered and when she got back to the room all ready for bed the kid was still sleeping in the same position. She needed her baby with her that night. It was a tough day. So she laid really close to Bella and the girl just hugged her.

And that was exactly what she had wished for all day.

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 **(Saturday)**

Saturday was pretty much a chilling day. In the morning Emily, Bella and Penelope woke up at 10:36 and just watched some tv. Around 2, JJ went to Emily's apartment with Will and Henry for a little barbecue. So they stayed at the pool almost all day but Bella didn't get in. Bella just sat on a table and read one of her books while they talked about work and played with Henry at the little kids pool. Around 4 Chloe, Millie and Hilary went to the pool too. Hilary went in with Millie and Chloe sat next to Bella.

"So how's everything?" Chloe asked.

"Fine. You?" Bella said.

"Fine too" Chloe said without a bit of excitement and picked up a book on her mother's bag.

"Look at those two" JJ said smiling to everyone, and everybody smiled at the sight of the two girls sitting by each other with their eyes fixed on their books.

"The reason why Bella moved here was awful but I really don't know what could have happened to Chloe if it wasn't for Bella" Hilary said.

"I don't know what could have happened if Bella didn't have Chloe" Emily said with a face that sort of said thank you.

.

It was almost 6 when JJ said they should go home. Emily invited them to stop by the next day to take Henry to the pool again, the little boy loved the water. They left and gave Garcia a ride. Emily and Bella headed back to the apartment and Chloe stayed a little longer at the pool with her family.

"Mom? Can we watch a movie or something?" Isabella asked as she walked back inside the apartment.

"Sure. Why don't we get all ready for bed than we just hang out till its bed time?" Emily asked the girl.

"Okay. I'm gonna shower than" Isabella said heading to the stairs. Both women showered and put pajamas on, then they laid together on the couch and spent the rest of the night watching tv shows. They headed to bed at almost midnight.

.

Laying on her bed Isabella thought about how the day went and she felt happy about it all. She loved her family there, and she knew it was way bigger than just her and her mom. She sure missed her dad, that feeling was never gone, but she knew she was loved and she also loved them very much.

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 **(Sunday)**

It was 9:34 when Isabella woke up. She went to her mother's bedroom and found Emily sitting on the bed reading a book.

"Good morning" Emily said as soon as she spotted the girl at the door. Isabella walked in and laid on the bed, hiding her face on the side of Emily's leg.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked and Bella gave her a thumbs up.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked unable to keep a little laugh in.

"Yup" Isabella said and stayed in the same position and Emily went back to reading.

They went for about 10 minutes without anyone saying a word and than Emily couldn't anymore.

"Come on let's go to IHOP" Emily said knowing something was up.

"What? IHOP today? No" Bella said.

"We can stop at Barnes and Noble" Emily said.

"Now we're talking" Bella said sitting up. Emily placed the book aside and pulled Bella into a hug then to her lap.

"I love you. Do you know that?" Emily said hugging the girl.

"I love you too" Bella said with a smile. "Will you get me a new book?" Isabella asked.

"I'll get you 2" Emily said smiling.

"Really?" Bella asked letting go of the hug.

"You used to go all the time right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. I used to just read there" Bella said and laughed.

"Well, I'm not dropping you off and leave you alone for a couple hours at a bookstore. I'll probably never do that. Actually I will never do that. But I can drive you there and you can get some books if you like" Emily said. "Deal?" Emily asked.

"Deal" Bella smiled and hugged Emily again.

"Alright. Let's get ready" Emily said and both girls got out of bed.

Isabella changed into black leggings, a Harvard t-shirt and her red rain boots. She let her hair down and took off to the kitchen. When she got there she found Emily in jeans and a pink blouse and black flats.

"What's with the boots?" Emily asked smiling.

"I don't know. I just feel like wearing them today" Bella said.

"Just in case it rains?" Emily said joking. It was a beautiful day outside, the sun was shining bright and the sky was blue, almost without clouds. There was really no reason for the rain boots.

"Ha ha. Very funny mother. Let's go" Bella said and they headed to the car.

The breakfast went great and then they headed to Barnes and Noble. Bella was there for a really long time. Emily sat on a couch they had with a book and let the girl venture thru the isles.

"I'm done" Bella said coming close to her mother with three books on her hand.

"Wasn't the deal 2 books?" Emily asked making a face. Bella laughed.

"I thought we could maybe get this for Henry." Bella said handing a Harry Potter pop-up book to her mother.

"I see" Emily said.

"It's for him I swear. I already have it. It's in Seattle" Bella said.

"You want to introduce Harry Potter to him?" Emily asked smiling.

"Yes. It's my job as his cousin AND best friend" Bella said, picked the book and waked to the cashier. Emily laughed and stood up.

"Alright. I'm taking this one too" Emily said and handed the book she was reading to Bella.

"Serial killers mom?" Bella said staring at her mother who laughed.

"Let's go." Emily said.

They paid and went to the car. Bella picked one of the books and started reading. Emily smiled at her little book worm.

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Back in the apartment Bella got a call from Cameron and she went to her bedroom to talk. The conversations between them had changed so much. They stopped talking so much about Bella and now almost all they talked about was Cameron's senior year and colleges and stuff like that. Bella liked it but it felt weird. She felt like she didn't know how to just open up to Cameron like she used to. They talked for almost an hour and then Bella headed to the living room. She watched some tv with her mother then they ordered pizza for lunch.

Around 3 JJ showed up with Henry, Penelope and this time also Derek.

"Hi Bella" said the little toddler running to the girl.

"Slow down Henry" Penelope screamed as the boy left her fingers and grabbed Isabella's legs.

"Hi" Bella said picking him up.

"Hi" the boy smiled big at her.

"I got you a gift" Isabella said and walked to the Barnes and Noble bags laying in the counter. She put Henry down and got the book out.

"Uuuh Harry Potter" JJ said.

"It's a pop-up book" Bella told JJ and handed The book to Henry.

They played with it for a while, Bella read him the beginning of the story and than they decided to go up to the pool. They spent the afternoon hanging out at the pool. Again Bella just sat and read. Around 5 they headed to the apartment and ordered Chinese. They were sitting at the dinner table almost done eating when JJ's phone rang.

"Hello?" JJ said.

"It's Aaron. We have a case. Omaha, Nebraska. It's bad we gotta leave now" Hotch told her.

"Alright. Morgan, Prentiss and Garcia are here with me." JJ said.

"Alright. Garcia is coming with us." Hotch said.

"Okay. We'll be there soon" JJ said and hung up. Isabella tensed a bit knowing just by looking at JJ's face that they would have to go somewhere. Penelope saw it and held her hand.

"So?" Garcia said.

"We have a case. Nebraska. We need to leave now" JJ said. "And Penelope you're coming with us."

"What?" Bella asked with fear evident on her face.

"Hey it's okay" Emily told the girl. Isabella's face said it all as she sat the silent between Emily and Penelope. Tears filling her eyes.

"Look you can stay with Will" JJ said and Bella just stared at her .

"Would that be okay?" Emily asked and Bella shook her head no and bursted into tears.

"Oh baby" Emily said hugging the girl.

"Do you want to stay at Chloe's?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella cried.

"Bella honey look, Will's not working, and you can finish reading that book with Henry" JJ said.

"Yeah" Henry said excited.

"See he wants you to go" Penelope smiled and Bella looked at the boy who was smiling big at her.

"So how about that? Would that be alright?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

"And anything you can just call. Any of us" Derek said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said wiping her tears and Emily helped.

"I'm sorry" Penelope said hugging the girl.

"It's okay" Bella let go of the hug. "I'm gonna get my things" she said still looking upset and headed to her bedroom without looking at anyone. She liked Will but she didn't know him well enough, she didn't really trusted him to just spend the night at his house like he was her family or something. She had only seen him a couple times.

She packed a bag and made sure to put her blanket there just in case. Then she got a pair of black flats from her wardrobe and sat on her bed to put them on. As she finished, Emily appeared at the door.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. I just freaked out a little I guess" Bella said. Emily walked a sat beside her.

"You can stay at Chloe's if you want" Emily said.

"Will is a cop too right?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. He's a detective. Why?" Emily said.

"Nothing. Just checking" Bella said and Emily knew what she meant. If she would be safe with him.

"Look. I know you'll have a ton of fun with Henry. And anything just call me. Anything" Emily said taking the girl's hand.

"Okay" Bella said and hugged her mom.

"Let's go" Emily said and they left.

Derek and Penelope drove on Emily's car to the airport, while JJ and Emily took Bella and Henry to JJ's house. Emily could see Bella was nervous but she knew she would be okay. Will was a good guy and she knew her kid loved Henry. So they dropped the kids off and headed to the jet.

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"So you can stay in the guest bedroom. That one you slept at remember?" Will told Bella after he closed the door. He could see she was tensed. "It's hard when they go, right?" He asked Bella.

"Yeah. Sometimes" Bella said.

"So how about a movie and popcorn huh?" Will said picking Henry up.

"Yeah" the little boy said excited.

"Are you up for that?" Will asked Bella.

"Sure" Bella said with a little smile.

"Alright" Will said. They picked a movie and Will made popcorn.

The night was good, just watching the movie and laughing at Henry's silly faces. Everything went great.

"He's out" Bella said at the sleeping boy in her arms. In the middle of the movie Henry wanted to sit on her lap and he ended up falling asleep.

"Yeah. It's late. And a school night. You should be going to bed too shouldn't you?" Will asked.

"Probably" Bella said smiling and looked again at the sleeping boy.

"Let me get him and you go get ready for bed" Will said kneeing down. He picked Henry up and took him to his bedroom while Bella got ready.

"You can use Henry's bathroom. The shower doesn't work in this one" Will told Bella before she entered the guest bathroom.

"Okay" Bella said a little embarrassed.

"It's right by his bedroom" Will told her and she went there.

After showering, getting dressed and brushing her hair, Bella went for a glass of water.

"Can I have some water?" Bella asked Will.

"Oh you don't have to ask sweetheart." Will said. Bella drank some water.

"Goodnight" Will said and she started walking towards the guest bedroom.

"Hey. Sweetheart" Will called her. "Anything just knock on my door" he said and she just stood there a little embarrassed. "Okay?" He said.

"Okay. Goodnight" Bella said and headed to the bedroom. She took her blanket out and laid down. She was really tired that night so it wasn't that hard to fall asleep even though she did fought with the thoughts of the entire team out in the field in freaking Nebraska. After a little moving around and kicking the covers and pulling them back, she finally gave in and fell asleep.

.

Emily had texted Will as soon as she got on the plane and told him about Isabella's nightmare issues. For their luck Bella didn't have any nightmares that night.

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 **(Monday)**

Isabella woke up with her alarm. She got her school clothes and headed to the bathroom to shower. She did it all really fast and headed to the kitchen all ready.

"Good morning" Will said. "How was you night?" He asked.

"It was alright." Bella said sitting next to Henry who was eating cereal.

"Cereal or toast?" Will asked.

"Cereal is fine" she said and he handed her the Cheerios box and milk. They ate and headed out. The drive to the school was fine. Bella guided him because he wasn't sure where the school was and he did get lost.

"You had to turn there" Bella said.

"You should have said it sooner" will said laughing.

"Well I didn't see the turn" Bella laughed.

"Yeah and neither did I" Will laughed.

They had a great laugh in the car while trying to find the school. Bella got there 20 minutes late but all the fun was worth it.

"Alright. So you'll go home at 3:30?" Will asked.

"Actually 5. I have choir today" Bella said.

"Oh alright. I can pick you up at 5 then" Will said.

"It's okay Will , I don't mind taking a bus" Bella said.

"you can just wait for me here and I'll be here" will said. "Okay?"

"Alright" Bella said.

"At 5" Will smiled.

"Okay" Bella smiled back.

"Bye" Will said.

"Have a nice day" Bella said. "Bye" and she headed off.

The school day goes great. Luckily no bullies bothered her. After classes she headed to choir with Chloe and Gavin and they had a blast. Once school was done the three friends headed out. They said their goodbye and everyone went their ways.

"How was your day?" Will asked Bella, as she entered the car.

"Fine." Bella said.

"Hi" Henry shouted from the backseat at the same time Bella said fine.

"Hi" Bella looked at him and smiled. When she turned back she noticed Will's face, he expected more than a fine. "It was okay I guess. " she said and he smiled.

"Mine too" Will said. "So how about Chipotle?" He asked.

"You like Mexican food?" Isabella asked surprised.

"Not that much but I thought you might like it so" he said.

"Oh. I can eat whatever. I don't mind" Bella said.

"How about Outback then?" Will said.

"Perfect" Bella said and he drove there. They ate and had a great time. Bella was actually surprised that she was having fun with them. When she learned she would have to stay there she thought it would be awful but she was okay. She missed Penelope and her mom, really bad, but she was okay. After dinner at outback they headed back to the house. Bella read the Harry Potter book with Henry and than the boy wanted her to read all his story books. She sat on the floor with the boy on her lap and read a bunch of books. Will could hear them giggling from the living room. He got up from the couch, where he had been working, and went to have a glass of water when he's phone rang.

"Hello?" JJ said.

"Hi" Will said.

"How everything?" JJ asked.

"It's really good. Henry made Isabella read him all his books" Will laughed.

"Oh I'm sure she loved that" JJ said and they laughed, both knowing she probably really did. "So she's okay?" JJ asked.

"Yeah yeah. She's fine." Will said. "She's good for Henry" he said. "He likes her a lot"

"Yeah" JJ agreed. "Well make sure you tell her I called and that everything is okay here and also that Emily's sending her a kiss"

"Okay. I will" he said. "Love you"

"I love you too. Bye"

"Bye" he said and they hung up. He headed to Henry's bedroom.

"Well boy I think you had enough stories for a day, didn't you?" Will said to Henry who smiled and snuggled Bella. "It's time for bed." He said. "And you have school tomorrow" he told Bella.

"No. Play" Henry said.

"We can play more after school" Bella told Henry.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah" Bella smiled. "Now it's bed time" she said picking him up. Will just stood at the door smiling as he watched the little girl put Henry to bed.

"Goodnight buddy" Bella said.

"Night night" Henry said. Isabella walked out and Will turned the light off.

"He adores you" Will said and Bella smiled.

"I'm going to bed too" She said.

"Oh wait. JJ just called and asked me to tell you that everything is fine there and that you mom sent you a kiss" Will said and Bella nodded and smiled.

"Are they coming back?" Bella asked.

"Not today" Will said.

"Okay" Bella said. "Goodnight"

"Goodnight" Will said and Bella walked to the guest bedroom and he to his own.

Bella just changed her clothes and laid in bed. She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep but her mind was going miles and miles an hour. She got up and got her blanket from the bag than laid back down. She started to feel her heart beating so fast and she could feel her eyes filling with tears. She didn't want to cry but she couldn't help it. She just laid there crying and wishing her mom was by her side. She didn't even noticed that Will had been standing at the door for a while. He walked in and she saw him. She got embarrassed and tried hiding her face.

"Hey. It's okay. It's just me" Will said and Bella just staid hiding her face. "You want your mom don't you?" He asked and she nodded yes.

"Can I sleep at Henry's room?" Bella asked sitting up and wiping her face.

"Of course" Will said and Bella picked her blanket. "Do you want to call you mom?" Will asked.

"Yes" Bella said embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed sweetheart. Come here" Will said and hugged her. She managed not to cry when he hugged her. Once he let go he got his phone and dialed Emily.

"It's Em" Emily said answering the phone.

"Hi. It's me Will. Bella wanted to talk to you" he said and gave the phone to Bella.

"Mom?" Bella said.

"Hi honey. Is everything okay?" Emily asked worried.

"Yeah. It's alright" Bella said trying to sound better than she actually was. But Emily knew her.

"Well, we'll be working all night probably. So maybe we'll go home tomorrow" Emily said.

"Really?" Bella asked a little relived.

"Yeah. I'll let you know okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"I love you. Goodnight " Emily said.

"I love you too. Goodnight. And be safe" Bella said.

"Always baby. See you soon" Emily said.

"Bye" Bella said and they hung up.

"So?" Will asked noticing Bella's face looked a bit better.

"She said they might come back tomorrow" Bella said.

"That's good" will said happy. "So let's fix you a bed." He said and they went. They got a camping mattress and covers and made a bed on the floor of Henry's bedroom for Bella. It wasn't as comfortable as the bed but she had company so it was better.

"Anything just knock" Will said.

"Goodnight " Bella said.

"Goodnight bell" Will said and shut the door.

Bella just laid there for a while staring at Henry's little Winnie the Pooh night light. It took a while but the sound of Henry's breathing helped her fall asleep.

.

Will went to bed too, while the team worked really hard in Nebraska.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Will woke up and went to wake the kids.

"Are you alright?" He asked Bella as soon as the girl got to the kitchen.

"Yeah" the girl said genuinely and sat down to eat.

The morning went fine. They had breakfast and than Will drove to the school.

"No mistakes this time." Bella said as Will parked the car and they laughed.

"Alright. So 5 again today?" Will asked.

"Actually it's 3:30 today." Bella said.

"You'll take the bus?" Will asked feeling bad. He didn't want her to have to take the bus but he would be busy.

"Yup. I don't mind really Will. It's fine." Bella said noticing his face.

"Alright. You'll go to my house or?" He said and she cut him off.

"BAU. My science book is there. I texted my mom to let her know I have to go get it" she said.

"Okay. So just stay there till 5 and I'll pick you up. Alright?" Will said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Have a nice day sweetheart" he said.

"You too." Bella said. "Bye Henry" she said waving at the young boy in the car seat and then left.

School went on fine. It was only Chloe and Bella that day because Gavin woke up feeling sick. Besides him not being there school went out great. The classes were fine, no bullies, nothing. During class Bella got a text from Emily saying the team were on their way back. She smiled as she felt her entire body finally relaxing. The teacher looked at her wondering what was going on and she laughed silently and mouthed a "sorry". The rest of the classes went on and when school was done, Chloe headed out with Millie and Bella started walking to the bus stop.

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Emily arrived back at Quantico after a long day to find her daughter on her desk almost asleep with a book and her blanket in hands.

"We're back" Emily announced and the girl looked up.

"Mom" Bella smiled placing the book and the blanket on the desk and ran to the older woman who picked her up and gave her a kiss.

"How was it with Will?" JJ asked standing in front of Emily.

"Good" Bella smiled.

"Yeah? I've heard you read books to Henry all day yesterday" JJ said laughing.

"He made me" Bella said and they laughed.

"You're turning my boy into a bookworm just like you" JJ said.

"That's a good thing" Bella said and they laughed.

Suddenly Derek and Spencer walked in.

"Hey hey look who's here" Morgan said.

"Hi" Bella smiled at him. He walked and hugged her.

"Should we go home?" Emily asked Bella.

"Yes!" The girl said excited and everyone smiled. The girl got her things and then held her mother's hand.

"Bye" Bella told them.

"Bye" they said in unison smiling and she laughed.

They headed to the car. Bella sat on the front next to Emily and she was so happy to have her mom back. When they got to the apartment Bella dropped her backpack on the couch and walked back and hugged Emily.

"I missed you" Bella said.

"I missed you too" Emily smiled tightening the hug.

"How about Pizza today?" Emily said.

"Yes!" Bella smiled big, letting go of the hug.

"I'll order and you shower. You stinky bones" Emily said tickling the girl who ran away to her bedroom.

Emily ordered and Bella showered. Once the pizza got there they ate and sat to watch tv. Emily pulled the girl to her lap as soon as the child sat beside her.

After a while, Bella ended up falling asleep and Emily just sat there enjoying the moment.

Later she took the girl upstairs and went to bed, placing the girl right beside her.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Emily woke up and Isabella was sleeping very close to her. She smiled as she noticed the child's tight grip on her shirt replacing her blanket with the clothing. Emily pulled the blanket from under the girl and took Bella's hand out of her shirt, replacing it with the blanket. The girl squeezed it tight and took it to her face.

Emily got out of bed and took a shower. When she walked back in the bedroom, Isabella was still asleep totally sideways on the bed. She laughed, got dressed and went to wake the girl up.

"Bellie. It's time for school" Emily said soothing the child's dark hair.

Isabella's eyes slowly opened and a little smiled appeared.

"Good morning" Emily said smiling.

"Morning" Bella said sitting up and hugging Emily.

"Did you have a good night?" Emily asked pulling the girl to her lap.

"Yeah" the girl said letting go of the hug.

"So how about you get up now and get ready for a good day?" Emily said and the girl smiled and went to get ready.

The ride to school was okay. Isabella seemed happy and Emily was excited for the girl. She dropped the kid off and headed to work.

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Emily walked in to find Penelope and JJ waiting for her.

"I need you in my office" Hotch said walking past her.

"Okay. I'll be right up" she said and walked to the women. "What happened?" Emily asked confused and a bit worried.

"You should talk to him" Penelope said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Guys, what's going on?" Emily asked now really worried.

"We are not sure yet. Just go talk to him" JJ said.

Emily dropped her bag on her desk and went to Hotch's office.

She knocked on the door.

"Come on in" Hotch said and she walked inside.

"What's going on? And why is Penelope almost crying?" She demanded.

"this letter addressed to you got here this morning." Hotch said handing Emily the letter. "It's from social services"


	47. Chapter 47: Custody Battle

...Emily just stood there.

"We didn't open it, of course. But I think you might have an idea of what it is" Hotch said. "You might want to sit down" he said and she sat and began to open.

Sitting on her boss's office, Emily couldn't believe what she was reading. Jeremy had filled for custody of Isabella. What she feared so much was happening. How was she supposed to tell her daughter. Finally when things were looking up. She had just started to make plans for the girl's 11th birthday in about 20 days. Things were going great. And now that was happening.

"So?" Hotch asked after giving her time to read and process.

"He filled for full custody" Emily said with tears in her eyes. Hotch stood up, walked to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Emily was trying hard not to cry.

"I can get Marcus Clark, we worked with him on a case a while ago. He's specialized in custody cases. He's really good" Hotch said.

"Okay" Emily said standing up and walking to the door. She was speechless.

"Emily" Hotch said and she stopped. Hotch walked to her and hugged her. She tried hard not to cry. She was so scared. She couldn't lose her girl, she just couldn't.

Outside Penelope and JJ were looking thru the window. Penelope started crying and JJ hugged her. Looking at Emily's face both knew it was serious.

After a while Emily walked out of Hotch's office to find the rest of the team waiting for her by the stairs.

"What happened?" Rossi asked.

"Jeremy filled for custody" Emily said.

"He won't get her Em" Derek said serious.

"Hotch is calling the layer" Emily said and JJ gave the woman's hand a squeeze.

Emily walked and sat on her desk.

"We need to work" she said getting some paperwork she had to do.

"Emily" Derek said but she didn't even look up.

The team headed to their desks and started working.

.

About an hour later Hotch went and told Emily the layer was there, so she headed to his office. A few moments in and the layer arrived.

The entire team couldn't help but pick at the window.

"Can I see the letter?" Marcus Clark asked and Emily handed it to him. Hotch noticed the team was looking and closed the blinds to give the woman some privacy.

"Anything I'm right outside" Hotch said. Emily nodded yes and he left.

"So tomorrow you and Isabella will separately have an interview with the judge and the hearing will be on Friday. He's likely to give out a temporary custody of the child and schedule another hearing" Clark said once he finished reading the letter where the info was. "The most important thing here is you talking to your daughter about this." He said and Emily could feel her heart pounding on her head. "You need to explain to her what's going on and find exactly what she wants so we can work with that." He said.

"Okay" Emily said.

"I'll go over with you the main questions you'll be asked tomorrow. We need to collect all the necessary paperwork and send in with your file." He said and Emily nodded.

After about an hour, Emily walked out of Hotch's office and thanked the lawyer.

"We'll meet tomorrow at 9 here" Marcus Clark said.

"Yes. Thank you so much" Emily said and the man left.

Suddenly Rossi got out of his office.

"How did it go?" He asked her.

"He thinks I have a good chance" Emily said not really believing it.

"You're a wonderful mother. Never doubt that" Rossi said. Emily gave him a small smile.

"I need to get all the documents" she said.

"Okay. And anything I'm here" Rossi said.

"Thank you" she said and walked to Penelope's office.

"Penelope?" She said opening the door.

"Yes!" Penelope said with tears still streaming down her cheeks, turning to face Emily.

"Can you help me with this?" Emily asked handing the list of documents she had to get.

"Sure." Penelope said already wiping her face and typing things on the computer.

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It was almost 3pm when Emily finished putting everything she needed in the file. She put it on a drawer on her desk, got her bag and started walking to the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Derek asked her.

"I'm going to pick Bella up" she answered serious and not even bothering to stop.

She went to the car and drove to the school.

.

Isabella walked out of the building and felt her phone vibrating. She took it out of her pocket and it was Emily.

"Hi" Bella said excited.

"Hey. I came to pick you up" Emily said smiling. She could see Bella from the parking lot and she saw how the girl was smiling.

"Oh. I see you" Bella said as she spotted the car. She hung up, told her friends goodbye and ran to the car.

"Hi" she said opening the door and getting in.

"Hi Bells" Emily said smiling and pulled the girl into a hug.

"Are we going home?" Bella asked a bit confused and Emily let go of the hug.

"No. BAU." She said.

"Why did you pick me up then? I don't mind taking the bus mom" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"How about chick-Fil-a?" Emily asked making an excited face.

"Yes" Bella said and giggled at Emily's face.

"Alright" Emily smiled and drove.

They ate and then headed to the BAU.

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As she stepped out of the elevator, Isabella couldn't help but notice eyes watching her.

"Mom, is everything okay?" Bella asked shyly taking Emily's hand.

"Yeah. Let's go to Hotch's office honey. They must have got a case" Emily said walking faster.

"Go sit. I'll be right back" she told the girl as they walked in and Bella took a seat on the couch. She was a bit nervous. She just knew something was happening and her mom wasn't telling her.

Emily walked to the conference room to find the team waiting for her.

"Do we have a case?" Emily asked.

"No. Ummn..." JJ said but before she could continue Emily saw Jeremy was there.

"You son of b-" she started.

"Em. This isn't a good idea" Derek said grabbing her arm.

"How could you? How can you do this to your sister?" Emily said angry and Jeremy just stared. "Do you know how this is gonna make her feel?" She asked. "You need to stop thinking about yourself Jeremy. Think about her. She doesn't need to go through this"

"I am thinking about her. That's why I'm doing this. She can't stay with you. She didn't choose this life. Your life. She deserves better and you know that" Jeremy said.

"She deserves a mother. And a family" Emily said looking at her team around her. "She deserves to stay where she wants to be. I promised to take her to Seattle whenever she wanted." Emily said.

"Why did she have to run then?" Jeremy said and waited for Emily to talk but she was so pissed that she just didn't say anything.

"You don't even know" Jeremy said. "You were never there. You don't even know your own child. How are you supposed to take care of her?" he said.

"You won't take her away from me" Emily said between her teeth. She was so pissed.

"Just wait and see" Jeremy said angry too.

They were so busy arguing that no one saw the small child was standing at the door listening to everything with so many tears running down her cheeks. When Jeremy told Emily to wait and see, Isabella ran to her mother and hugged her legs.

"Bella, I told you to wait for me in the office" Emily said heartbroken. She did not want the girl to find out like that.

"Come here princess" Derek said noticing the girl's eyes were full. He went to pick her up but she tighten her grip around Emily.

"What's going on mommy?" Bella asked.

"Wow you didn't even tell her" Jeremy said.

"I just picked her up from school" Emily said. "Come here" she said picking the girl up. "We need to talk" Emily said walking to sit on the couch. She placed Bella on her lap and started, carefully trying not to hurt the girl even more. "your brother thinks it's a good idea for you to stay with him in Seattle." She said and Bella just looked confused. Emily looked at Hotch unsure of what to say.

"Look Bella" Hotch said walking in front of the girl and kneeing down. "Sometimes when a mom and a dad don't live together anymore they go see a judge that helps them find out who is the best choice to take care of their children. And your brother thought it was a good idea if the judge helped him and your mom" he explained.

"Help him and mom?" Bella asked still a little confused.

"Yeah. Help they find out which one of them should take care of you" Hotch said.

"Who I should live with?" Bella asked as her eyes got even fuller.

"Yes" Hotch said.

"No! No! I wanna live with you" Bella said turning to Emily and bursting into tears. Emily hugged the girl.

"We'll talk to the judge okay? It's gonna be okay" Emily told the child as her own eyes filled with tears.

"No! I don't want the judge to choose. I wanna live with you! Daddy said I was going to live with you mommy" Bella cried.

"I'm sorry baby" Emily said as some tears escaped.

Isabella's sobs filled the room. Penelope was crying too and JJ was on the verge of tears.

"Take her to my office" Hotch said and Emily walked out caring the crying child in her arms.

"Are you happy man?" Derek asked Jeremy, he was so mad.

Jeremy didn't say another word and walked out.

"I'm gonna go check on them" Penelope said and went to Hotch's office followed by JJ.

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Emily walked in the office and went to the couch.

"I don't wanna go with him mommy" Bella cried.

"I know honey" Emily said rocking the girl. "We're going to talk to the judge, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said.

Penelope and JJ walked in.

"Hi" Penelope said and sat on the couch next to Emily. JJ stood in front of them.

"It's going to be alright bunny" Penelope said talking the child's hand in hers.

It took a while but Isabella calmed down.

"Penny" Bella said.

"Yes bunny" Penelope said smiling and pushing her tears away.

"Can you tell him I want to stay with my mom?" The girl asked.

"Tell who?" Penelope asked.

"The judge. Can you tell him?"

"Of course I can." Penelope said.

"We're going to talk to him honey, don't worry" Emily said and Bella stared at her with tears in her eyes. "And you're gonna talk to him too"

"I am?" Bella said.

"Yeah. Look... We have a very good lawyer that will help us and tomorrow he'll talk to you about everything" Emily explained.

"And then I can go home with you?" Bella asked.

"Hopefully" Emily said and gave the girl a kiss.

"I just don't understand why he doesn't want me to stay with you" Bella said.

"Your brother?" JJ asked.

"Yeah" Bella said sadly.

Emily hugged the girl, not really knowing what to say.

"How about if we go home right now?" Emily asked and Bella nodded.

"Alright. Say bye to Aunt Penelope and Aunt JJ so we can go" Emily said making Bella stand up.

"Bye" Bella said hugging Penelope and then moved on to JJ. Then she held Emily's hand.

"Mom" Bella said.

"Yes" Emily said looking at the girl and Bella just hugged her. "Jump" Emily said and picked the girl up. Isabella laid her head on her mother's shoulder and kept a tight grip around her.

"Have a good night today bunny" Penelope said rubbing circles in the girl's back.

"You too" Bella whispered and they all smiled.

"Em, anything just call" JJ said and Emily nodded yes.

"Thank you" Emily said and left.

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Isabella fell asleep on the way back home so when they got there Emily carried her inside. The woman knew the child would probably have a bad night so she just let her sleep. Inside the house she put Bella down on the couch and walked to the kitchen. She got a glass of wine and sat next to the sleeping girl to watch some tv. 24 minutes later Bella jumped awake. Emily pulled the girl to her lap and rocked her till she calmed down.

"Do you want to watch 'doctor who' ?" Emily asked the girl.

"Yeah" Bella said sounding sad.

Emily put on the show and they watched that till dinner time. Emily ordered pizza and once it got there they sat in the kitchen to eat. Afterwards both went to shower. Isabella walked out of the bathroom wearing long sleeves and pants, she picked up her blanket and Tramp and went to Emily's bedroom. She laid down on the bed hugging her things and it didn't take long to fall asleep.

Emily smiled when she walked in to find the girl asleep on her bed. She was wrapped in a towel so she went to get dressed and then went to bed. She wrapped the small girl in her arms and let out a breath as the child tightened her grip around her. It took a long time for her to sleep that night but eventually she did and for both their lucks the girl slept peacefully the entire night.

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 **(Thursday)**

It was 7:45 when Emily woke up. She showered, got dressed, made breakfast and headed up to wake Isabella.

"Bellie. Wake up mon amour" she said soothing the child's hair.

Isabella moved a little on the bed and when she opened her eyes she jumped and hugged Emily. Emily picked her up and took her to the bathroom.

"Let's shower?" She asked the girl who just stayed quiet. "Come on honey. Shower quickly and I'll get your clothes" Emily said letting the girl down. They needed to meet the lawyer that morning. Isabella showered while Emily picked out an outfit for her. It was quite cold so Emily chose jeans, a navy shirt and a winter coat, and placed it all on the bed. Isabella walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and got dressed while Emily waited downstairs. Once the girl finished she headed to the kitchen and they ate, then Bella went back upstairs and just sat on her bed. She was so scared that she would go out and never go back home that she started crying. She hugged her legs and just cried.

A couples minutes later Emily walked in to find the girl crying…

"Oh Bella" the woman said walking to sit next to the girl but before she could sit Isabella jumped in her arms.

"I don't wanna go with him mommy" she cried.

Emily wasn't sure of what to tell the girl. She was also so scared. She ended up just sitting on the bed holding the child in her arms and rocking her till she calmed down.

"We have to go see the lawyer now baby" Emily said.

"No. I wanna stay home" Bella said sounding upset.

"It's going to be okay honey. We have to go" Emily said.

"No! I wanna stay" Bella said as more tears rolled down her face.

"Bella you're not going anywhere today baby. You're coming home with me." Emily said. "We'll just talk to the lawyer and then the judge and then we'll come home. That's it"

"Are you sure?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily said. "We'll just talk to him baby." She said and the girl just sat there looking upset. "I promise you'll come home with me afterwards" she added.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Let's go then?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

"Go get your shoes on" she said and the girl jumped out of her lap and ran to get her shoes. Bella put on her red hunter rain boots and walked downstairs.

Emily smiled as she saw the girl was wearing those boots again. "Baby it's not raining" she said smiling.

"I like them" Bella said walking to her mother.

"Alright" Emily smiled. "Let's go?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said taking her hand and they walked to the car.

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Emily and Isabella were sitting at Hotch's office waiting for the lawyer to get there when Penelope walked in.

"Hi. Sorry, um... I just wanted to check on you guys" Penelope said as she saw Hotch was there with them.

"We're okay" Emily said giving Bella's hand a squeeze. Since they got out of the car the child had not let go of her.

"Anything you know where to find me" Penelope said with a small smile and Emily nodded. "Bye" Penelope said and walked out closing the door.

Suddenly it opened again but this time it was the lawyer.

"Hi" Marcus Clark said.

"Good morning. I'll leave you three alone." Hotch said and walked out.

"So you must be Isabella" Marcus said looking at the girl who just hid her face behind Emily's arm.

"It's okay Bella" Emily said but the girl stayed hiding.

The lawyer explained to them how the interviews would go and told them some questions the judge would probably ask. By the end of it Bella was okay with the man there and even talked to him a little.

"I know this is scary sweetheart but you have to try to talk to him and answer his questions okay? Even if they are hard" Marcus said.

"Look if you don't tell him he won't know what you want" Emily said.

"And Bella there's just one thing you have to promise us" Marcus said and the girl just stared. "No matter what he asks you, you cannot lie" he said. "Do you understand?" He asked and she nodded yes. "Do you promise me you won't lie?" He asked and she just nodded yes.

"I think we can go now" Marcus said and Bella grabbed Emily's arm.

"It's okay. Remember what I promised you this morning? You're coming back home with me" Emily said but the girl didn't let go of her so she stood up and picked Bella up.

They walked out of Hotch's office to find Derek and Penelope waiting from them around Reid's desk.

"We're going to the judge's office for interviews" Emily said.

"We know. We're going too" Penelope said.

"Oh guys it's okay you don't have to" Emily said.

"We won't take no" Derek said. "Who's gonna watch the princess when you talk to the man?" He asked tucking Bella's hair behind her ear and the girl let go of Emily and Derek got her.

Emily smiled at him and they headed off.

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They were sitting in the waiting room at the judge's office and couldn't help but notice how tensed Isabella looked. She had not let go of her mother since they walked out of the car.

They waited a while and the judge called Emily in. Isabella tightened her grip on her mother.

"It's okay baby. It won't take long" Emily said.

"No" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be back don't worry. You stay here with uncle Morgan and aunt Penelope huh?" Emily said but the girl didn't let go.

"Come here princess" Derek said as he stood up and walked to the girl. She let go of Emily and hugged him and he lifted her up in his arms. She couldn't help it and started to cry.

"I'll be back baby" Emily said feeling really bad.

"It's okay go. She'll be alright" Derek said and Emily left.

He sat back down and placed the girl on his lap. Penelope held Isabella's hand and they just stayed silent till the child calmed down.

.

Inside the judge's office Emily tensed feeling really nervous about all the questions he would ask her. He talked a little about the case and then asked if she bothered answering some questions for him. She said of course not and he started. He asked about Isabella's school and free time, who stayed with the girl and picked her up from school, how the child's life was before John passed away, the story behind her not staying with Emily in the first place, and many more. Emily felt as she answered some of them that the judge was clearly judging her actions. She couldn't help but feel scared he would end up giving Bella to Jeremy.

.

Outside, Isabella stayed the entire time sitting quietly on Derek's lap. A lady called Sarah had gone to talk to them and she said she was a social worker and psychologist and would walk in with Isabella so she tried talking to the girl a bit but with no success, she only got some nods.

When Emily walked out Isabella looked very relieved to see her mother again.

"See I told I'd be back" Emily said as the girl ran to her arms. She sat and placed Bella on her lap.

"Can we go home now?" Bella asked.

"You have to talk to him, remember?" Emily said and the girl looked sad. "It's gonna be okay baby"

Suddenly the judge called the child in.

"Let's go?" Sarah said. Sarah was very tall and she had a very long and curly blonde hair.

"Mommy" Bella said with tears in her eyes. She was so scared.

"I'll be right here waiting for you just like you waited for me" Emily promised.

"Come one Sweetie" Sarah said and Bella took her hand and bravely walked in the judge's office.

"Good morning Isabella" the judge said as Sarah guided the child to a chair.

"Good morning" Bella said shyly sitting down.

"So you are here today so we can talk a little bit about your life, right?" The judge said and the girl just stared. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" He asked and Bella nodded no.

"You need to use your words honey" Sarah said.

"No I don't mind" Bella said embarrassed.

"Okay. So... " he started.

With every question Isabella got more and more tensed and scared that she was going to end up with her brother. The man was asking her things that she knew most mothers did but because of her work Emily didn't. He asked about Jeremy too. He also asked how she felt about Emily's work and she had to tell the truth.

"I think it's brave what she does" Bella said.

"Why would it be brave?" The judge asked and Bella froze. She just knew he wouldn't like the answer.

"Because she could get hurt" Bella said almost a whisper.

"Does that scare you?" He asked her.

She took some time to think and said "sometimes. But she's tough and she has her team to protect her. So I know she'll be okay"

"Okay" the man said.

"Sir I know it's scary but I really wanna stay with my mom" Bella said as tears filled her eyes.

"I can see you do but it's my job to see what's best for you, where you will be safer" he said and the girl started crying. She hugged her legs and hid her face.

"Come here" Sarah said taking the girl's hand and Bella sat on her lap and just cried.

Once she calmed down a bit the man asked her a few more questions about Emily and about Jeremy and then said they were done. Bella felt it didn't go very well and she was so scared. She walked out of his office holding Sarah's hand and when she spotted her mother she sprinted.

"Let's go home. I wanna go home" Bella said crying.

"Okay okay. Let's go" Emily said lifting the child up in her arms.

"I wanna go right now" said the crying girl.

"It's okay we're going." Emily said rubbing circles on the child's back.

"I'll call you later" Marcus Clark said and Emily left with Derek and Penelope.

As they walked inside the elevator Jeremy walked in too. Isabella tightened her grip on Emily when she saw him and no one said a word.

They walked to the car and Emily placed Bella on the back seat and sat beside her.

"Garcia would you mind coming over to my house?" Emily asked a little embarrassed but she knew the rest of the day would probably be bad.

"Of course I'll go" Penelope said. "You didn't even have to ask I was planning it already" Penelope said and Emily laughed.

"I don't think she's joking Prentiss" Derek said and Emily laughed and they headed to her apartment. When they got there Penelope went upstairs with Bella so the girl could change and Emily and Derek sat in the living room.

"Do you mind if I stay too?" Derek asked.

"Of course not, I'm sure she'll love having you here" Emily said and he smiled.

It wasn't long till Bella walked back downstairs with Penelope. She was wearing pajamas and had her blanket in hands.

"Why are you ready for bed?" Emily asked but the girl didn't say a word. Isabella just walked to her mom and sat on her lap. Emily wrapped her arms around the girl as Derek turned the tv on.

After a while the doorbell rang. It was Chloe.

"Em, it's Chloe." Penelope said before opening.

"I don't wanna see her right now" Bella said sounding sad.

"I'll talk to her" Derek said walking to the door. He walked out and explained the situation to Chloe who of course cried. He took the child back to her apartment and then explained it all to Hilary. The woman was very sorry and told him that if they needed anything she would help. Derek went back to Emily's apartment. They watched tv till dinner time, then ate what Penelope cooked. After dinner Derek asked if Bella wanted to play chess so she sat with him at the dining table and played. He won the first time and then she won.

"How about this one now?" Penelope asked holding 'Candyland' and they laughed. "Oh come on it's fun" she said.

"Fine" Derek said smiling and they played it, Penelope, Derek, Bella and Emily. They all had a great time and loved seeing the child more relaxed and laughing.

It was almost 10 when Emily noticed Bella was very tired and fighting her sleep.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Emily asked the girl who just nodded yes.

"Let's go" Emily smiled and took the girl's hand. "Say goodnight"

"Goodnight aunt penny" Bella told Penelope and the woman hugged her. "Goodnight uncle Morgan" Bella said sounding sleepy and Derek laughed.

"I'm uncle Morgan now?" He asked her and she just nodded and he smiled. "I like it" he said and they all laughed.

As they were walking upstairs Bella asked if she could sleep on Emily's bed and of course the woman said yes. So she tucked the girl in and then headed back downstairs. They talked about what was happening and then Penelope headed to Bella's bedroom, Derek stayed on the couch and Emily laid next to her sleeping girl. Once again she wrapped the tiny child in her arms and fell asleep.

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 **(Friday)**

It was a little over 4am when Isabella woke up screaming and crying. Emily jumped awake and pulled the child to her lap.

"Shuuuu shuuuu it was just a bad dream. It's okay. You're okay" she kept saying as Isabella sobbed in her arms. As always that sound made her head pound. She hated it.

Derek and Penelope heard the scream and it wasn't long till both appeared on the door to find Emily holding the crying child. They saw Emily's face and just knew their friend needed help so they walked in and sat on the bed.

"Hey. What happened princess?" Derek asked Bella who was starting to calm down.

"Can you tell the judge I wanna stay with mommy?" Bella asked him, her voice thick from crying.

"We'll tell him don't worry" Penelope said as tears rolled her own cheeks.

"It's okay baby. You're okay. Let's try to sleep. Come on" Emily said placing Bella next to her and lying back down again without taking her arms from around the child. Bella snuggled her blanket and relaxed on her mother's embrace. Derek and Penelope saw they were okay so they headed back.

"Anything I'm right downstairs" Derek said and Emily mouthed a "thank you" and he smiled understanding how hard it must be for the woman.

Isabella fell asleep shortly and Penelope too but Derek and Emily both stayed awake.

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Around 7:30, Emily got out of bed and went to get ready. She wanted to get ready before the girl woke up so she showered, got dressed and headed downstairs to eat.

"Hey" Derek said as Emily appeared downstairs.

"Hi" she said looking tired.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked and she shook her head no. "Me neither" he said walking to the kitchen behind her.

"It's just..." She said and took a deep breath. "I think.. I think he'll take her" she said as her eyes filled with tears.

Before she said anything else Derek was hugging her.

"Don't think like that" he said and Emily let go of the hug.

"It's easier said than done" Emily said. She was able to keep her tears in but Derek could see she was hurt.

She walked to the coffee machine and made coffee. They drank and then sat in the living room allowing Penelope and Bella to sleep some more.

It wasn't long till Penelope walked down too and joined them.

.

Upstairs Isabella woke up to an empty bed and her eyes immediately filled with tears as she started running downstairs. When she saw Emily she just hugged her and bursted into tears. Emily wrapped her arms around the child who was crying on her lap. She couldn't believe how her kid who used to never ever cry was just a little waterfall nowadays.

"Did you have another bad dream?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella said trying to take control of her breathing again.

"Oh baby. It's gonna be okay" Emily said pushing the hair out of the girl's forehead and giving her a kiss there.

"Let's have breakfast" Emily said making Bella stand up. She took the girl's hand and they walked to the island. They ate and then sat to watch tv. Bella didn't let go of her mother not even to go to the bathroom. She wanted Emily at all times. Around 12 they got ready for the hearing. Emily wore a lady suit and Bella wore a navy dress and white tights. And then they ate lunch that Penelope had cooked.

"Go get a jacket honey" Emily told the girl. It wasn't very cold outside but Bella had just recovered from pneumonia so Emily was being extra careful. Isabella got her black winter coat and put her red rain boots on and headed back downstairs.

"What's with the boots bunny?" Penelope asked, she also had noticed how often the girl was wearing it.

"Nothing" Bella said.

"Bella I don't think it's a good idea to wear that today" Emily said making a face. She knew it was best if they were formally dressed. "How about your black docs?" Emily said talking about the doc martins boots. She thought they were way better looking than the girl's old red rain boots.

"Okay" Bella said walking back upstairs. She changed her shoes and walked back down.

"Let's go?" Emily asked Bella and the girl just walked to her and grabbed her hand.

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The entire ride, Bella had a tight grip on Emily's suit. The girl was so nervous. They all were.

When they got there they met the rest of the team at the entrance and then walked in to find Jeremy and Marley already inside. When Bella saw him she stopped walking and hid behind Emily.

"It's okay honey" Emily said throwing one arm around the girl. "Come on let's sit" she said walking to sit where they were supposed to, beside Marcus Clark. She led Bella to the seat between them and waited for the judge.

It wasn't long till the judge walked in. They stood politely and sat back down. The judge talked about the case and then it was time for the important part.

"The court wants further evaluation of the case. Today's decision will be temporary until the final hearing in 15 days." He said and Bella just sat there confused.

"What does that mean?" Bella asked her mom but before Emily could answer the judge began talking again.

"The state grants temporary custody of the minor to Jeremy Marshall effecting immediately till second hearing in 15 days." The judge said.

"What?" Bella asked as she realized what the man's decision was.

The child looked at Emily and Emily couldn't find words to say. Isabella jumped in her mother's arms and started crying.

...

.

* * *

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 ***** Hey guys! I know things got a bit chaotic again but a custody battle was a part of my plan since the beginning. I just want to explore more of Emily's ways of dealing with her emotions and i also have plans on bringing the team even closer together.**

 **Please let me know what you think about what is happening! Should Isabella end up with Jeremy or Emily? Or someone else... ummm**

 **Please let me know =)**

 **Love, B**


	48. Chapter 48: It's Like A Nightmare

"The state grants temporary custody of the minor to Jeremy Marshall effecting immediately till second hearing in 15 days." The judge said.

"What?" Bella asked as she realized what the man's decision was.

The child looked at Emily and Emily couldn't find words to say. Isabella jumped in her mother's arms and started crying.

"I'm sorry" was all Emily said.

"No. Please. No. I don't wanna go. Please" Bella cried and the social worker came in front of her with Jeremy.

"Come on Bella" Jeremy said putting his hand on Isabella's shoulder.

"No!" Bella screamed loudly.

Jeremy tried taking her off of Emily which just made it worse.

"No! I don't wanna go. I wanna stay with you. I wanna live with you" Bella cried fighting to keep hugging her mother as Jeremy tried to pick her up. "Please mommy. I wanna stay" Bella cried.

"Jeremy stop. Let me talk to her" Emily said pissed and he let go.

"Honey look at me" Emily said.

"I don't wanna go. Please I don't wanna go" Bella cried not lifting her face off of her mother's shoulder.

Emily whispered in Isabella's ear "I'll get you back. Be brave okay? And i promise I'll get you back"

"I wanna live with you mom" Bella kept crying.

"That's enough." Jeremy said. He loved his sister, he wanted what was best for her and he truly believed that staying with him was it. He went to pick her up and the screaming began again.

"No! Leave me alone" Bella said but he just ripped her off of Emily. Isabella held her mother's suit with all the strength she had as she kicked her brother and screamed to let her go. He managed to make her let go of the suit and walked away carrying the screaming child out.

"Mommy! No! Mommy! Don't let him! Mommy" Isabella screamed and cried while Jeremy carried her out.

Emily stood there fighting the tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that was happening.

JJ walked to her and hugged her. Emily just stood there not knowing what she should do next.

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Jeremy placed Isabella inside the car as the child kept screaming for her mother. They went to a hotel and he locked the room door leaving the girl crying on the bed.

"I want my mom. I want my mommy" was all Isabella kept saying.

He felt bad the girl was so upset but in his heart he felt like he was doing the right thing.

Isabella cried for such a long time that she was coughing badly and he couldn't take the girl's screams anymore.

"Marley" he said and Marley walked to the bathroom with him. "I'll hold her and you give her the medicine okay?" He said, Talking about the same light sedative he and Shepherd wanted to give the girl when her father passed away.

"Let her cry Jeremy she's just upset" Marley said not wanting to make the girl sleep.

"She's gonna end up sick" Jeremy said. "And this will help her. She'll wake up all better" he said and Marley said okay.

It was extremely hard but he managed to hold Bella so Marley could give her a shot in the arm. The girl cried a lot and asked them not to.

"It I'll make you feel better" Jeremy said.

Bella cried a lot afterwards and kept asking for Emily but ended up falling asleep.

Marley covered the girl up and sat to watch tv while Jeremy showered.

The woman felt really bad.

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Emily headed home and JJ, Derek and Penelope went with her.

"I need to pack her some things" Emily told them.

"Do you want help?" JJ asked while Penelope was still crying.

"No" Emily said walking to the stairs.

"We'll be here if you need us" Derek said.

"Thank you" Emily said and headed up.

She walked in Isabella's bedroom, closed the door and couldn't help but cry as she saw the child's blanket on the bed. She picked it up and laid on the bed and just sobbed. She couldn't help it. She couldn't hold it any more. She was just so angry at Jeremy and at the judge for giving him custody, even if temporary. She felt helpless. All she ever wished for was to have her daughter by her side and when she finally got her all of that was happening. She was so pissed.

It took a while for her to calm down but eventually she did. She packed a bag for the girl, with her favorite clothes and favorite books. She made sure to put Tramp, Isabella's stuffy, and also the blanket inside. She walked downstairs to find her friends sitting in the living room.

"Do you want me to take it?" Derek asked.

"No. I'll go" Emily said serious.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" JJ asked scared it could make things even harder.

"I know he probably won't let me see her. I just want to make sure she'll get it" Emily said.

"I can drive" Derek said.

"Okay" Emily agreed and they left. JJ drove Penelope home and then went home herself.

At the hotel Derek walked in with Emily.

"Hello. I'd like to speak with Jeremy Marshall. Could you call his room and tell him Emily Prentiss is here" Emily said.

"Sure" the guy told her and dialed the numbers.

.

On the 7th floor, room 712, Isabella was asleep while Jeremy and Marley watched tv when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Marley said.

"Hi. There's an Emily Prentiss wanting to talk to Mister Jeremy Marshall" the man said.

"Emily is here" Marley told Jeremy.

"Say I'm not here" he said.

"He'll be down in a moment" Marley said and Jeremy looked pissed. She hung up.

"What in the world Marley?" He said.

"For goodness sake she's the girl's mother Jeremy" Marley said as Jeremy walked out of the room looking angry.

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"Where is she?" Jeremy asked the guy when he got to the lobby.

"Right there" the man said pointing to Emily and Derek who were sitting on a couch. They saw Jeremy and started walking to him.

"What do you want?" Jeremy asked serious.

"I packed her a bag" Emily said handing it to him but he didn't pick it up. "Just give it to her Jeremy" Emily said. "You don't have to say I brought it" she added.

"She doesn't need any of this. She's going home" he said. "Have a nice day" he said and started walking to the elevator.

Without thinking twice Emily got the girl's blanket off the bag and ran after him.

"At least give her this" she told him.

Jeremy looked at the blanket and swallowed pushing away his fears.

"She's 10. She's not a baby anymore. She doesn't need it. She hasn't needed it in a long time" he said even though he knew it wasn't true.

"Jeremy stop it. She's your sister. You know her. Stop doing this. Just take it" Emily said hopeful.

The elevator got there and he got in and pressed for the door to shut. The door closed leaving Emily standing in the hotel lobby with the young girl's blanket in hands.

"Em" Derek said.

Emily grabbed the bag from him and walked back to the car.

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"What did she want?" Marley asked.

"Nothing" Jeremy said angry.

"Jeremy" Marley said.

"Stay out of this" he said walking to Bella. "She's going to be fine" he said ruining his fingers through the girl's hair. "She'll be just fine" he said.

He checked the girl's coat pocket and got her phone out and put it in his bag. Marley just watched.

.

They watched tv the rest of the day while the child slept. She woke up around 10 and refused to eat. She didn't cry but she also didn't talk. Not even one word.

Jeremy and Marley fell sleep around midnight.

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Emily walked in to an empty apartment that night and she felt like crap. She had promised the girl that no one would take her away and just like that her own brother did.

She went upstairs, placed the bag she had packed on the child's bed and went to take a shower. Afterwards she headed to Isabella's bed. It took a long time for her to sleep and she had a horrible night. She kept waking up. She couldn't stop thinking about her baby.

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 **(Saturday)**

Around 2am Isabella ended up falling asleep again. But the sleep didn't last long.

At 3:45 she woke up with a jump. She didn't scream or cry but she was scared. She looked around and her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to go home. She wanted Emily.

She got out of bed and went to the door but it was locked, she looked around the room for the key but she couldn't find it so she walked to the window, that didn't open, and sat there looking at the city. It wasn't very long till she fell asleep right there.

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Marley woke up and found Isabella asleep on the floor. She picked the girl up and Bella woke up.

"No! No!" The girl cried as she stood up and ran to the bed.

"It's okay I won't hurt you" Marley said but the girl sat on the bed scared.

Jeremy had been woken up with the screaming.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. She's okay" Marley said walking back to her bed and sitting beside Jeremy. "Let's order breakfast?" She asked.

"Sure" Jeremy said. "What do you want Bellie?" Jeremy asked but the girl kept quiet and turned to face the other side.

"Pancakes it is" Jeremy said and smiled at Marley. He was happy the girl was with him. He felt bad she was upset but he believed that with time she would be alright.

They ordered food and sat watching tv. When the food got there they sat at the end of the bed to eat and Bella just stayed lying down completely ignoring them.

"Are you sure you won't eat this? It looks really good" Jeremy said nicely but the girl didn't answer. "Okay then" Jeremy said and took a deep breath.

"Jeremy we need to get ready. Look at the time" Marley said and Jeremy got out of bed, grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom. He changed inside while Marley changed outside.

Jeremy walked outside and Bella was still in the same position from when he had left.

"Are you going to shower?" Marley asked Bella who still didn't say a word.

"I don't think we have time for that" Jeremy said putting his shoes on. "She can shower when we get home" he added.

"Are we going to Seattle?" Isabella asked almost a whisper.

"Yes" Jeremy said with a smile.

"No" the girl said and started crying.

"Bella it's okay. You're gonna be fine" Jeremy said walking to the girl. He sat on the bed and she jumped out and tried to make a run for the bathroom but before she could make it Marley held her.

"No! Let me go! I'm not going to Seattle! I want my mom!" Bella cried and kicked.

Jeremy tried to pick the girl up and made it worse.

"Stop this or we'll give you that shot again" he said thinking maybe that would make her stop but he was wrong. Marley put the girl down but kept her arms around her. "I'll let you call your mom" Marley said. "Be a good girl and stop with this tantrum and tonight I'll let you call her" she said and Bella stopped completely.

Marley let go of the girl and Bella stood there staring at the woman's eyes.

"Do you promise?" Isabella asked, her voice thick with tears.

"I promise" Marley said.

"We do. Come on we're gonna miss the plane" Jeremy said.

When Bella heard his voice she hugged Marley. She didn't trust him anymore. She just didn't.

"It's okay sweetheart. Let's go" Marley said picking the girl up and they headed off to the airport.

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That morning Emily woke up and for a moment she had forgotten the events of the day before. But looking around the child's bedroom she felt hopeless again.

She stayed in bed for a while longer just looking at all the things around her. Then she drank some coffee in the kitchen and sat to watch tv. It was about noon when she decided to stop by the hotel again and give Isabella her things. She drove there and her heart broke when the man told her Jeremy had checked out. She went back home and spent the rest of the day watching tv and reading. It was just awful. She couldn't picture a life without her baby there.

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The flight to Seattle went better than Jeremy had expected. Isabella sat quietly on her window seat, Marley sat in the middle. The child had tears streaming down her face almost the entire flight but she didn't make a sound. When they landed they headed straight to Jeremy and Marley's house. In there Bella was greeted by Bear, their dog, a giant Terra Nova, she petted him and ran to the guest bedroom. She laid on the bed and the dog followed her and jumped on the bed next to her.

"Bear out" Jeremy said and the dog ran out. Bella just laid there completely ignoring Jeremy.

"Later we'll stop by the mall to get you some things okay?" Jeremy said but the girl kept quiet. He let out a deep breath and walked out.

Isabella heard Jeremy's bedroom door closing so she walked to the door.

"Bear! Come in boy!" She said in a shouting whisper and the dog walked inside. She closed the door and jumped on the bed, Bear laid right next to her. She petted him for a while and failed to keep her tears in. She wanted Emily so bad. She cried and ended up falling asleep.

Around 2, Marley walked in and woke her up to go have lunch. Bella shook her head no and moved away from the woman.

"Hey. Remember what I promised?" Marley said standing up. "Be a good girl. Come on" she said holding out her hand and Bella got out of bed and held it. They went to Outback and ate. Bella barely touched the food and she did not talk to them at all, not even to say what she wanted. After eating they stopped at the mall and Marley took Bella to get some clothes at JCPenney while Jeremy looked for a new suit. Isabella refused to try anything on so Marley just bought what she thought was cute and would fit the girl. They paid and headed back home.

They got home around 5 and Bella went straight to the bedroom and closed the door. Before walking in Marley knocked but got no response so she walked in and started putting the clothes in the closet. Isabella saw and ran to her.

"Stop it" Bella said grabbing the clothes from the woman. "Leave them out" she said throwing the clothes on the floor.

"Honey it's okay. Let's just organize it" Marley said.

"No! No! I'm not staying here" Bella said as tears filled her eyes.

Marley saw it and let go of the clothes.

"Okay. How about we just leave the bags here?" She asked Bella and the girl stood there quiet.

"Would that be okay?" Marley asked.

"In the bags?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. In the bags" Marley said.

"Okay" Bella said walking back to the bed. She took her shoes off and laid down.

Marley put the clothes back on the bags and put the bags inside the closet.

"Don't you wanna come watch tv with us?" Marley asked.

"No" Bella said serious.

"How about if I turn this on?" Marley said walking to the tv in the room.

"No" Bella said.

"Okay. Anything the remote is here. I'm sure you know how to do it" Marley said and walked out.

Bella sat there for a while just staring at the walls and looking around. She was very angry but also very bored so she got up and turned the tv on. She found the channel where doctor who was always on and left it there. Her eyes filled with tears thinking about her mom, Penelope and Reid watching it with her. She thought about her brand new chess that Morgan gave her and she started crying.

.

Back at Emily's house the woman was doing the same thing. Emily was lying in bed watching doctor who and thinking about her girl. She wasn't crying but she was broken.

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Bella watched one episode and cried the entire time without making a sound. She ended up falling asleep.

Around 11:40 she woke up and walked out of the room to call Emily. She found Marley and Jeremy in the kitchen.

"I want to call my mom now" the girl said almost a whisper.

"Bella it's almost midnight honey. Go back to bed" Jeremy said walking to the girl.

"I want to call my mom" Bella said serious.

"It's too late now. You can call her tomorrow. Come on let's go to bed" he said placing his hand on her arm.

"No! You said I could call her" Isabella screamed at his face.

"Stop it" Jeremy said grabbing her arm. "Don't talk to me like this" he said serious.

"You liar! You stupid liar" she screamed with tears in her eyes.

"Bella" Marley said.

"You promised me!" She said and started crying.

"It late now." Jeremy said.

"I want my mom! I wanna go home" she said and the fit started. Marley picked Bella up and carried the crying girl to bed as Isabella screamed and cried for Emily.

"Go back to sleepy sweetie" Marley said putting the girl on the bed.

"Tomorrow morning we'll let you call her. She's sleeping now." Jeremy said.

Suddenly Isabella realized.

"My blank-" she said and just sobbed.

"Oh it's okay honey" Marley said trying to hug the girl but Bella pulled away before she could do so.

"I want my blanket!" Isabella added to her begging repertoire.

Two hours of screaming and crying went on till the girl fell asleep. Jeremy covered the girl up and headed to his bedroom with Marley. They were exhausted.

"You didn't think it would be this hard did you?" Marley asked Jeremy as they laid down.

"She'll come around" he said.

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 **(Sunday)**

In Seattle, Isabella woke up and Marley had just left to Walmart. She asked Jeremy to call Emily but he refused to let her, he felt like it would make things worse if the girl talked to the woman.

After he said no, Isabella ran to the guest bedroom and refused to leave the entire day. She watched tv, cried most of the day, refused to eat and didn't let them get near her, not even Marley. She only drank water because Marley left it in the nightstand and walked away but that didn't work with the food.

Bella took a shower and laid in bed to watch a movie on the tv. She started crying again because of how much she just wanted to go home. She cried herself to sleep around 9.

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In DC, Emily stayed home all day too. Hilary stopped by to see how she was and they talked a bit but soon she left. Emily then watched tv and read. She went to bed really early, around 8:30.

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 **(Monday)**

Emily woke up that Monday morning and felt like crap. She got up knowing she had to go to work and do something. If she stayed home it would just make it worse. So she got ready, drank coffee and left the house.

Walking in the BAU she found the team gathered in front of Hotch's office. When they saw her they walked to her.

"Hi" Penelope said giving Emily a hug. "How are you?" She asked.

"Fine" Emily said. "Do we have a case?" She asked changing the subject.

"Yeah" JJ said. She felt so bad for Emily and she was so upset about it all too.

"We need to fly to New York asap" Penelope said.

"Let's go then" Emily said ready to work and they left.

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In Seattle, Jeremy went to work at 7:30 and Marley stayed in the house with Bella. At 8 Bella woke up. Marley heard the girl's toilet flush and decided to take some breakfast for her.

"Bella?" Marley said walking in with a tray with a glass of orange juice and two waffles with whip-cream. "I brought you breakfast." She said and the girl just stayed in bed silent.

"You gotta eat sweetie" Marley said placing the tray on the bed. Isabella sat up and pushed it on the floor angry.

"Bella!" Marley said a bit scared. She took a deep breath and picked the things up from the floor. "If you decide to eat just go grab something in the kitchen. You know where everything is" Marley said and walked out.

Bella just stayed lying down silent. Marley walked back in and cleaned the mess the girl had made and headed out.

Sometime passed and Bella heard the master bedroom's shower on. She knew Marley was showering so she got up and went for it. She HAD to talk to Emily. She tippy toed to the woman's bedroom and got Marley's phone that was left sitting in the nightstand. She went back to the guest room and went to the bathroom and dialed Emily's number.

.

Emily was sitting at the police station in New York City with Spencer working on a geographic profile when her phone started ringing. She picked it up and made a wondering face when she saw the strange number.

"Hello" She said.

"Mommy?" Came Isabella's sweet voice.

"Bella?" Emily said feeling her heart pounding. Reid stopped working and just stared at her.

"Mommy I wanna go home" Isabella said crying.

"Oh honey. It's going to be okay" Emily said not knowing what else to tell her.

"I'm scared mom. I wanna go home. Please" Bella said.

"Baby I know. I'm doing everything I can honey" Emily said. "I'm sorry" she said as her eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly Bella heard the shower going off. "I need to go now. I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too Bells" Emily said and hung up.

She looked at Spencer.

"Is she okay?" Reid asked.

"She just cried and said she wants to come home" Emily said.

"She will soon" Spencer said.

"Do you really think so?" Emily asked hopeful.

"Yeah" he said with a smile and Emily smiled back.

.

In Seattle Isabella hung up and put the phone on her coat pocket and walked to Marley's bedroom. She put the phone in the nightstand and as she was walking out the door Marley got out of the bathroom.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Marley asked nicely.

Bella froze.

"Do you want something, honey?" Marley asked.

"Water" Bella spitted out nervously.

"Go get it on the fridge. You don't have to ask for it" Marley smiled and Bella walked away. She got a glass of water so it wouldn't look suspicious and headed back to the guest bedroom.

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Marley tried talking to Bella after she got ready but girl refused to. Jeremy got home at 1:45 for lunch. Isabella refused to leave the guest bedroom so they just ate and then Marley took a plate for her which she just left to rotten in the nightstand.

Marley and Jeremy sat to watch tv.

"Marley, can I use your phone? I gotta call Clay but I don't have his number" Jeremy said.

"Sure" Marley said and handed him the phone. He opened the contacts and a list of 'recent calls' showed up. He recognized Emily's number.

"Did you call Emily today?" Jeremy asked Marley.

"What? No!" Marley said.

"Marley this is her number. Did you call her?" Jeremy asked a little angry.

"No I didn't" Marley said.

"Bella did" Jeremy said.

"Oh. She must have got it when I went to shower" Marley said.

"What did I tell you? I don't want her talking to her" Jeremy said. "It's just going to make it worse" he added and Marley just listened.

"Bella!" Jeremy called but didn't get an answer. "Bella! Come here!" He said and nothing. "Bella! You have a visitor." He lied and the girl walked to the living room. Bella thought it could be Emily or Shepherd so she went but it was no one.

"Liar" she said and tried going back to the room but Jeremy held her arm.

"I don't want you going behind our back and doing things like this you hear me? Using Marley's phone without asking was not nice" he said.

"Well I did ask" she said.

"You didn't have permission to use it and you know it" he said. "Go to your room" he said and let go of Bella who just ran to the bed and shut the door making a loud noise that made Marley and Jeremy jump.

They left the girl in the room watching tv and stayed in the living room. After a while Jeremy went back to work leaving Marley with the girl again.

"Do you want to eat now?" Marley asked Bella and the girl kept quiet. "I won't tell him" she said.

"No" Isabella said and turned the other way so Marley left.

It was almost 5 when Bella went to the kitchen to drink water, since there was no one there she got an apple but two bites in she felt sick so she just threw it away. She spotted Marley asleep on the couch. It was perfect; she could get her phone back and just run. And that's what she did. She searched Jeremy's bedroom and found her phone on a drawer in the nightstand. She grabbed it and walked out of the house without making a sound. She knew there was a library close to Jeremy's house so she walked there. She walked 3 blocks and found it; she went inside and headed to the bathroom.

She dialed Penelope's number.

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In Quantico, Penelope smiled when she saw the girl's picture show up on her phone but suddenly the smile turned to a frown, why would Bella call her.

"Hello? Are you okay? What's wrong?" She asked really fast.

"Penny?" The girl said feeling relieved by hearing the woman's voice.

"Yeah yeah baby it's me" Penelope said.

"Can you come get me? I wanna go home. Please" Isabella said.

"Oh Bellie" Penelope said feeling bad.

"Penny it's horrible here! He gave me a shot to go to sleep! I want my mom! I want you" Bella cried.

Penelope couldn't control the tears escaping from her eyes as the child's sweet voice filled her ears begging for help.

"Okay. Alright. Calm down. I'll see what I can do, okay? I'll figure something out. I promise" Penelope said.

"Just come please" Bella said still crying.

"I will Bellie I will" Penelope promised.

"I gotta go" Bella said as she heard someone walking in the bathroom.

"Bye sugar. I love you. Auntie Penny loves you, okay?" Penelope said.

"I love you too" Bella said. "Bye"

"Bye" Penelope said and hung up. She just felt awful. She needed to help Bella. She had too.

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Bella stayed at the library reading till Jeremy walked in to get her around 7pm. He was pissed.

"Are you out of your mind? You can't just leave the house" he said taking her hand and basically dragging her out.

"I wanted to read" Bella lied.

"Yeah sure" he said sarcastically. "If you want to read you ask. Okay? Ask us and we'll bring you" he said and they walked inside the car.

"Give me the phone" Jeremy said and Bella stayed quiet and just looked out the window. "Give me the phone Isabella" he said.

She handed it to him.

"You're grounded" he said and she just kept staring out the window.

He drove to the house and when they got there Isabella went straight to shower. She showered and put on a night gown that Marley had brought. She headed it.

She put a movie on and went to bed. It didn't take long for her to sleep.

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In Quantico, Penelope got a call from JJ saying they were heading to the airport. The woman didn't relax till she had a plan to get the girl. She researched about custody cases and found what it seemed like the perfect plan. She decided to take action and file for temporary custody of the child till the judge made his final decision. She was just a tech analyst. She knew she had a big chance. And she wanted to take a trip to NYC for a while and couldn't think of a better company. The girl would be with someone caring, loving, safe and just away from all the mess her brother was causing. She got all the papers she needed and headed out. She filed before even talking to Emily or anyone about it.

She just knew she had to.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Jeremy was working when his lawyer called him and told what Penelope Garcia had done.

"She what?" He asked in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding. And she has a big chance here Jeremy. She's got nothing going against her" the lawyer said.

"What should we do now?" Jeremy asked.

"You need to be here tomorrow morning with Bella at 8. The judge wants to speak to you and Penelope before the hearing" the lawyer said.

"Okay" Jeremy agreed and hung up. He let out a breath. He was pissed.

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"You did what?" Emily asked after Penelope told her.

"I filled for temporary custody" Penelope said. "I researched it and in a lot of cases they put the child in foster care till things are settled, so why not let her stay with me?"

Emily couldn't believe.

"Garcia you didn't have to" Emily said.

"Of course I did." Penelope said letting a few tears fall. "She called me yesterday"

"What? She called you?" Emily asked confused.

"Yeah. She was crying and she asked me to go get her" Penelope said. "I just had to"

"Penelope" JJ said noticing how her friend was crying now.

"She's just a little kid, she doesn't deserve what he's doing to her" Penelope said and Emily hugged her.

"Thank you" Emily said. "Thank you so much" she smiled letting go of the hug and wiping a tear that was falling down Penelope left cheek.

"I just hope I win" Penelope smiled.

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Later that day Penelope was sitting in her office just thinking about the girl and what they would do in New York. She knew she could take care of Bella but she was a little scared because of all the trauma the kid was going through. She was scared it would be hard to handle it.

Suddenly Derek walked in and she just stayed staring at the computer screen.

"Baby girl?" He said and Penelope jumped.

"Sorry" she said.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"If I win can you come to New York with us?" Penelope asked.

"Sure but why?" He said.

"I'm just scared I guess. She's been through a lot and I know there'll be crying and every time she asks for Emily my heard just..." She explained unable to finish.

"Of course I'll go" Derek said. "We're gonna make sure that kid has a really good time" he smiled.

"Thanks" Penelope smiled back.

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Around 4pm, Jeremy headed home and told Marley what was happening. The woman tried not to look too happy but she really hoped Penelope would win. Not that she didn't want Bella with them, it was just that she didn't want her forced and she knew Penelope would take care of the girl.

"I'm gonna talk to her but I'll tell it's just interviews okay? I don't want to get her hopes up" he said and Marley nodded yes knowing it would be best like that. She knew that if Bella knew what it was and Penelope ended up losing it would be chaos again.

"Bella. We need to talk" Jeremy said walking in and the girl turned her back to him.

"We're going back to DC today. We have an interview tomorrow" he said but the girl stayed quiet. "go pack a bag, okay?" He said. "There's one in the closet" he added and walked to the door.

"Can I see her tomorrow?" Bella asked him, almost a whisper.

"She won't be there. You'll see her at the hearing" he said and walked out. Bella stayed in bed for a while and then got some clothes Marley had bought and put it on the backpack Jeremy had left. She finished and sat on the bed to watch tv.

Jeremy went to get her at 6 so they could go.

The flight went fine. Bella was happy to be back in DC. They went to the same hotel they stayed before and went to their room. Jeremy made sure the door was locked; he was scared Bella would try to run away.

The girl refused to say another word and to eat dinner. They all fell asleep watching tv.

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Emily went to bed that night feeling very hopeful. She knew Bella would be okay with Penelope. She loved the idea of them going on a trip to New York. She knew Isabella would absolutely love that.

The possibility of seeing the girl again on the next day made falling asleep easier.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Bella was woken up by Marley at 7am and once again refused to eat.

"You're gonna end up sick Bella. Come on, its cinnamon toast. You love it" Marley said and Bella turned her back to the woman.

"Alright then. Go shower. We have to be there at 8:30" Marley said and walked away. Bella showered and put on an orange dress Marley had picked out for her with white tights and her black doc martins.

Do you need help?" Marley asked noticing the girl struggling to fix her wet hair in front of the mirror.

"No" Bella said serious.

"I can dry it for you" Marley said.

"I said no" Bella said and finished brushing her hair. She let it down and put her coat on.

"I'm done" she said serious and sat down on the bed.

"Let's go?" Marley asked Jeremy who was fixing his tie. He nodded yes and they walked out.

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Emily woke up that morning and couldn't help but feel excited. She knew that if Bella stayed with Penelope she would be okay.

She got ready that morning really fast and headed out.

When she got there Penelope and Derek was just arriving too.

"How's everything?" Derek asked Emily.

"Good" she smiled.

"Let's go in?" Derek asked and they walked in.

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Bella stayed quiet the entire ride. She was scared about what the judge would ask her and she was sad that she wouldn't see Emily. When they got there, the social worker/psychologist, Sarah was waiting at the entrance.

"Hi Isabella" she smiled at the girl who kept quiet.

"Hello" Jeremy said.

"Well the judge has ordered that she stays in a separate room today" Sarah said and Jeremy just looked a bit confused. "He doesn't want her upset like last time" Sarah said.

"Okay" Jeremy said.

"Let's go in then?" Sarah said. "And you come with me" she said handing her hand out and Bella took it.

They walked inside and Isabella's face light up when she saw Emily. She let go of the woman and ran to her mother.

Emily was talking to JJ and Penelope when she spotted the girl walking in. She smiled at her daughter and suddenly the girl was running to her arms.

Isabella jumped and tightened her arms around her mother. Emily held the girl as she fought to keep her tears in.

"Mommy! I missed you so much" Bella said crying.

"I missed you too baby" Emily said putting the girl down. Bella stood next to Emily but didn't let go of her arm.

"Look what I brought" Emily said taking Isabella's blanket out of her bag. She handed it to the girl who hugged her again and thanked her.

They let go of the hug and stood there.

"Bella we gotta go wait honey" Sarah said.

"no" Bella cried hugging Emily again. Emily let go of the hug and went down to the child's level.

"Look at me" she said and Bella did that. "I know it's scary but hopefully you'll stay with Penelope. And I'm doing everything I can to get you back. I promised you I would do everything didn't I?" She said.

"I'm gonna stay with Penelope?" Isabella asked confused.

"Honey, do you know why you are here today?" Sarah asked.

"Interviews?" Bella said confused.

"He didn't tell you" Emily said.

"Look. You asked Penelope for help and she filled for temporary custody. Which means that if the judge thinks its best you can go stay with her till the final hearing" Emily explained.

"Really?" Bella asked with tears in her eyes and turning to Penelope.

"Really" Emily smiled.

"But we gotta wait right there" Sarah said pointing to a door on the left. "So do you mind coming with me?" She asked and Bella looked at Emily scared.

"It's going to be alright bells. You'll see." Emily said.

"Will I see you afterwards?" Bella asked scared.

"I'll make sure you do" Sarah said with a smile.

"Be good for Sarah okay baby?" Emily said hugging Bella.

"Okay" Bella said and they walked to a small room with a couch, a tv, DVDs and video games.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Sarah asked Bella who sat on the couch. Isabella shook her head no and the tears started falling.

"Oh honey. Come here" Sarah said sitting next to the girl and hugging her.

"I don't wanna stay with Jeremy" the girl cried.

"I know sweetheart" Sarah said and just kept hugging the girl till she calmed down.


	49. Chapter 49: NYC

Inside the court room Emily was really nervous. She was scared she would have to tell the girl bad news.

The judge walked in and everyone stood and up politely and sat back down. He talked about the case and then said "temporary custody is granted to Penelope Garcia till final hearing in six days."

The entire team cheered. They couldn't be more excited.

Derek smiled noting Marley was smiling too. The woman knew Bella would be okay and she was happy for the girl.

"Let's go tell her?" Derek said excited and they walked to the waiting room. They walked in to find Bella sitting on Sarah's lap facing the tv, with a tight grip on her blanket.

"Guess what?" Penelope said smiling walking in the room first and Bella turned to look at her. "You're coming with me" Penelope said.

"I am?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"Yes" Penelope smiled and Bella ran and hugged her. "Thank you" Bella said and let go of the hug. Penelope smiled and the girl walked to Emily.

Emily picked her up and sat on the couch placing Bella on her lap.

"What's gonna happen now?" Bella asked.

"You'll stay with Penelope for 6 days and then we'll have the final hearing" Emily said.

"And then I can go home with you?" Bella asked.

Emily swallowed.

"Hopefully" Sarah said noticing Emily's sudden nervousness.

"But can you go see me at Penelope's house?" Bella asked.

"I'm sorry but I can't honey." Emily said and Bella just looked broken. "Look, it's okay, don't be sad. You're gonna have fun with Garcia and we'll see each other in 6 days. This gonna go by superfast" Emily said hugging the girl who let a few tears fall.

"But I want you mommy" Bella said not letting go of the hug.

"I'll see you soon I promise" Emily said. "And I'll call you everyday. Okay?" She added.

"Do you swear to me you will?" Bella asked letting go of the hug.

"I swear Bells" Emily said and kissed the girl's forehead.

"Oh and I think you're gonna like what Penelope has planned" Emily smiled and looked at Penelope so she could tell the girl.

"How about if we take a little trip to New York City?" Penelope said smiling.

"to New York?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. I got tickets to a certain musical that I heard you wanted to see so I thought why not go right now" Penelope said.

"For how long?" Bella asked looking at Emily. She didn't want to stay away from her.

"5 days" Penelope said. "We'll be back for an interview and the hearing"

"I don't wanna go" Bella said sounding sad.

"Bella your mom is not going anywhere. She'll be right here and you call her whenever you want." Penelope said. "And... I really want to see Matilda" Penelope smiled.

"We're gonna see Matilda?" Bella asked.

"Yeah" Penelope said. "What do you think? Do you wanna go?" She asked.

"I can call you whenever I want?" Bella asked Emily.

"Yes" Emily nodded smiling.

"Okay" Bella said.

"We can go?" Penelope asked excited and Bella nodded yes.

"Yes!" Penelope smiled big and everybody was smiling too.

"So let's go 'cause we have a train to catch" Morgan said.

"You're going?" Emily asked standing up and taking Bella's hand.

"Yes. I thought these two needed someone to hold their bags while they shop" Derek joked and everyone laughed.

"We're going on a train?" Bella asked.

"Yes. Have you ever been in one?" Penelope asked.

"No" Bella said.

"You'll love it" JJ smiled and Bella gave her a little shy smile.

"So say 'see you later' to your mama so we can go" Penelope said and the smile faded from the girl's face.

Emily hugged her. "Have fun okay? And I expect you to call me every night to tell how the day went" she said let go of the hug. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"I'll see you in 6 days" Emily said.

"I love you mommy" Bella said hugging her mother again.

"I love you." Emily smiled letting go of the hug. "I'll see you soon" she said and Penelope took Isabella's hand.

"See you soon" Bella said and walked out of the room with Penelope.

"Take good care of her" Emily told Derek.

"We will" he said and they hugged and he walked out.

Emily headed home while Derek and Penelope went to the train station with Bella.

The girl was a little nervous; she had a tight grip on her blanket and on Penelope's hand which she hadn't let go of.

"Do you want to put this on your bag?" Penelope asked about the blanket and Bella nodded. "Your mom packed you some things" Penelope said putting the blanket inside a backpack full of fun stuff that Emily had packed for Bella. They got to the train station. Derek parked the car and they headed out. They got tickets and the train was already there so they went in. Bella was excited to see everything. She wanted her mom there but she was glad she was with them now and not Jeremy. The trip went fine and the girl loved it. When they got to NYC they rented a car and headed to a hotel. Bella insisted that Derek stayed with them so they got a room with two beds so Bella could share one with Penelope and Derek had another one. They put the bags in the room and headed out to have lunch. They went to the Cheesecake Factory and Bella basically shoved the food down her throat. She was so hungry.

"Sweetie slow down or you'll be sick" Penelope told her.

They finished eating and then went to an ice cream shop across the street. They walked around the city, stopped at some shops and then headed to Central Park for a while. Suddenly Isabella's phone started ringing. Jeremy had given it to Penelope so the woman took it out of her bag and handed it to the girl. It was Emily calling.

"Mom?" Bella said excited.

"Hi honey" Emily smiled. "I just called to see how everything is"

"It's okay. We're at Central Park" Bella said smiling. It felt good to talk to her mom.

"When are you going to see the musical?" Emily asked.

"I'm not sure" Bella said.

"Alright. I'll see you soon then. Okay? Make sure you send me pictures" Emily said.

"Okay. I will" Bella said. "I love you"

"I love you too baby" Emily said. "Bye"

"Bye" and they hung up.

Penelope and Derek took the girl to the zoo and they just loved seeing Isabella smiling and looking excited about things. She was okay all day long. Penelope knew she did the right thing.

They headed back to the hotel around 8. Bella fell asleep in the car. The girl was so tired from walking around all day. When they got to the hotel Morgan carried her inside and put her on the bed and the girl didn't even move, she was out. Penelope took Isabella's shoes off and then they ordered dinner and watched some tv while eating.

"So what are the plans for tomorrow?" Derek asked Penelope.

"I'm thinking about ice skating, and maybe we could take her to that big toy store" she said.

"Sounds like a good plan for me" Derek smiled.

They watched a movie and then got ready for bed.

"Should I set the alarm clock?" Derek asked and Penelope shook her head no. She wanted the girl to sleep for as long as she wanted. They weren't in a hurry to get anywhere.

Penelope laid next to the girl and Bella moved closer to her. She soothed the tiny girl's hair and closed her eyes. She fell asleep doing that. And It wasn't long till Morgan fell asleep too. 

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 **(Thursday)**

The day went out great. They woke up around 8 and Bella woke up at 9:45. So they had breakfast in the hotel and then headed out. They went ice skating at the Rockefeller and it was super fun. Penelope and Derek just loved seeing the girl giggling happy. After ice skating they walked around the place till lunch time. They ate at Outback and then headed to the toy store. Penelope couldn't help but smile big as she noticed the little girl's eyes wondering around the store. Bella looked so happy. Penelope told her she could pick a toy and the girl ended up choosing a Yoda plushy.

"You can't get any nerdier then this" Derek said as Bella held the plush and smiled. They paid for it and headed out.

"How about some ice cream again?" Penelope asked excited and Bella nodded yes also excited. She was having a great time. But all that happiness didn't last forever. After getting the ice cream they walked around some more and then went back to the hotel. Penelope had bought a game at the toy store so they played that and watched tv. They had dinner and then Bella got ready for bed. The girl laid down to watch a movie while Penelope showered. Suddenly she started crying. She couldn't help it. She got scared thinking about the hearing in a few days and she just let the tears fall. She tried to hide from Derek but she failed.

"Princess" Derek said walking to the bed. He sat next to the girl and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm scared" she cried.

"I know you are. But you'll be okay. No matter what happens." He said pulling her to his lap and just letting her cry.

"I don't wanna live with him Derek" she said. "It was horrible. He didn't let me…" she said unable to finish

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"He took my phone and he wouldn't let me call mom. And then there was one day when I crying because I wanted mom he just gave me a shot to sleep. I don't wanna go back. He'll do it again" she cried.

"He gave you a shot to go sleep?" Derek asked trying not to sound so pissed.

"Yes" the girl nodded.

"He's never gonna do that again." Derek said and Penelope walked out of the bathroom.

"What happened?" She asked worried.

"She wants Emily" Derek said.

"Oh pumpkin. You'll see your mama soon" Penelope said siting on the other side of the bed next to Bella.

"You know what. How about if we go out. Huh? Let's go to Times Square" Derek said.

"Derek it's almost 11" Penelope said.

"Aren't we in the city that never sleeps?" He asked and Penelope laughed.

"Let's go?" He asked her.

"Sure" she said getting up to change.

"Do you wanna go?" Derek asked Bella who nodded yes shyly, she was still crying.

"Can I wear this?" She asked.

"Sure. Just get your coat on, sugar" Penelope said. Bella was wearing light purple pajamas with white flowers on it, pants and long sleeves. She put on her winter coat and her doc martins and they headed out. She actually looked cute with that.

They walked around for a long time. They went to the Disney store and obviously Penelope spoiled the child with tsum tsums and a beanie, it was cold outside so the girl just wore her new Star Wars beanie. They went to the m&m's store and got a bunch of m&m's then they sat at the red stairs and started eating some. It was almost 2am.

As the time went by Bella was getting more and more tired. She was almost asleep sitting up so they decided to walk back to the hotel which was just a couple blocks away. Half way there Derek picked Bella up and when they got there the girl was out. It didn't take long for them to sleep too. It had been a long day. 

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 **(Friday)**

That morning Bella woke up around 10 and Derek was showering and Penelope was on the computer.

"Good morning sugarplum" Penelope said smiling.

"Morning" Bella said sleepy.

"There's breakfast waiting there" Penelope told the girl and Bella went to the table and ate the waffles they had ordered for her. Then she sat on the bed and picked up her phone. She played some games while waiting for Morgan to finish so she could go shower and suddenly she decided to look the judge up online. She googled his name and ended up finding out that he had lost his wife about 2 years before and that he has 3 kids, ages 24, 15 and 12. She was about to tell Penelope what she had discovered but Derek walked out and Penelope told her to go shower so she went. She showered then put on a light blue dress, black tights and walked out with a wet and tangled hair.

"Do you want help with that?" Penelope asked and Bella walked to her and handed her the hair brush.

Penelope brushed it and then made two French braids. The ones Bella always wanted her to do. Then Penelope went to get ready while Bella watched tv with Morgan. Once they were all done they headed out. They went on a bus tour of the city, then to a wax museum and then they had lunch and headed to Central Park again. They rode on a carriage and then walked around the park.

"So… let's go see Matilda?" Penelope asked Bella excited.

"Yes!" The girl smiled big and they went.

It was amazing. The seats were great, the show was great and Bella just loved it. Penelope and Derek spoiled the girl with merchandise and then headed to Sardi's for dinner. They had an amazing time and the girl couldn't be happier. When they got to the hotel Bella wanted to call Emily. She did that and told her mother everything that had happen and how awesome it was. Emily smiled as she heard her daughter laugh and go on and on excited about everything she was getting to do. She just loved it. Of course she wanted to be with the girl and do all those things but she was so happy that Penelope and Morgan were making Bella feel good while the girl was going through a hard time. She was very thankful for them.

Bella told her about it all and then they hung up and Bella got ready for bed.

They sat to watch a movie and suddenly Derek remembered the girl's birthday was coming up.

"So Bella have you been thinking about what you want to do on your birthday?" Derek asked and when he saw the girl's happy face fade away he knew he shouldn't have.

Bella started crying and Penelope hugged her.

"Oh baby it's okay. It's okay" Penelope said and Derek walked to their bed feeling bad for mentioning.

"Will I be with my mom on my birthday?" Bella asked.

"I'm sure you will" Penelope said.

"I wanna sleep now" Bella said sounding sad and laying down on the bed.

Derek looked at Penelope and she could see how sorry he was.

"She'll be okay Derek" she told him and he went to his bed.

Penelope covered Bella up and went back to watch the movie while the girl laid close to her. Bella stayed quiet for a while and suddenly she said "thank you for staying with me"

Penelope and Derek looked at her.

"I love you guys" she said shyly. Penelope hugged her. "I love you too. Very very very much" she said giving the girl's forehead a kiss with every "very" she said.

Derek smiled at them and Bella smiled back.

"On my birthday I want ice cream cake" Bella said.

He smiled at her and said "I'll make sure you'll have the best ice cream cake in the world" and she laughed.

"Goodnight" Bella said.

"Goodnight princess" he said smiling. 

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That night Emily got a call from Shepherd, Isabella's godfather. He said he didn't know about what was happening till he got a letter for the judge. He had to go talk to him about the girl and he told Emily he was on her side and for her not to worry about it.

Emily was confused at why Jeremy didn't tell people. 

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 **(Saturday)**

Saturday went fine. They walked around the city, went to Central Park and had an Eloise tea-themed at The Palm Court at the plaza which Bella absolutely loved. Penelope bought the girl an Eloise Tea set and a plush doll. It was a chill day of doing whatever came on their minds. Bella had a great time but she couldn't stop thinking about the judge and his wife and kids. 

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In DC, Emily took the day to clean her closet and relax at home. She got texts from Bella throughout the day and couldn't help but smile seeing how exited the girl was about everything in New York.

Around 4, Hilary stopped by and was thrilled about Bella being with Penelope. She invited Emily for dinner at her house. Emily wasn't very sure about it but decided to go.

They had just finished eating, Millie was helping Hilary with the dishes, when Chloe asked "Emily, do you think she'll come back?"

Emily swallowed a bit nervous.

"I think so" she said and she saw hope on Chloe's face. "Chloe, even if she doesn't stay with me, I won't stop seeing her. Ever. And I'm sure your mom will let you see her too" Emily said giving that option trying to push the child's fears away.

Chloe nodded and then just stayed silent. She was scared she would lose her best friend.

Emily stayed there for a while and then headed home. She felt good having dinner with Hilary and the girls but she felt the hole. Bella should've been there with them. 

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 **(Sunday)**

Penelope smiled as she woke up that morning and found the girl fast asleep hugging her Eloise plush and her Yoda. She covered the girl up a bit and went to get ready for the day.

Sunday was their last day to explore the city so they went to the Statue of Liberty and then they went to see wicked. That had always been Isabella's favorite and she couldn't be more excited to see it again. After the musical they walked around and then decided to go to the hotel to get ready to leave in the morning. They packed everything, went to have dinner at the hotel's restaurant and headed back to their room and got ready for bed.

"How about this movie?" Derek asked smiling as he found "Eloise At The Plaza" was playing on a channel.

"Yes!" Penelope said smiling. So Derek left on that channel and handed the remote to her.

"You're in charge I'm going to sleep" he said and Penelope laughed.

Bella had already laid down next to the woman and was holding her blanket close to her face and had her Eloise plush in her arms. She was nervous about the interview but luckily it didn't take long for her to sleep.

But the sleep didn't last very long.

About an hour later, Penelope got a call from Emily.

"So how's she doing?" Emily asked Penelope.

"She's okay" Penelope said.

"Hey don't lie to me" Emily said.

"Well, she's fine during most of the day. At night she gets a little upset but she's alright" Garcia said.

"Has she been crying?" Emily asked.

"Not as often as I expected actually" Penelope said. "She just cried a couple times" she added.

"That's good" Emily said and suddenly Isabella jumped awake and screamed "no".

Sitting on the bed she looked at Penelope and jumped not recognizing who it was at first. Her breathing was really heavy.

Penelope's eyes started to water as she panic not knowing exactly what to do. If she should calm the girl or Emily.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay" Derek said running to get Bella.

He sat on the bed and the girl just jumped to him.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked but the girl just cried.

"Hey your mom is on the phone. Do you want to talk to her, sugar?" Penelope asked and Isabella nodded rapidly so Penelope handed her the phone.

"Mom?" Bella said crying.

"Hi baby. What happened?" Emily asked softly.

"I wanna go home" Bella said.

"I know honey. I'll see you soon, okay?" Emily said.

"I'm scared mom. I'm so scared" Bella cried.

"I know you are baby. But you gotta be brave for me, okay? You gotta be brave no matter what and I promise and I am doing everything I can to bring you home. Okay?" Emily said as tears rolled down her face.

"Okay" Bella said trying to take control of her breathing again.

Emily heard her daughter take a deep breath and she just knew how the girl was broken and terrified.

"Look baby. I promise you that no matter what happens I'm never leaving you. Never ever" Emily said.

"I just want to hug you mommy" Bella said and started sobbing again.

Penelope was crying holding Bella's hand while Derek kept his arms around the girl.

"I know" Emily said crying too. There was a moment of silence then Emily said "I'll see you soon. Try to get some sleep, it's late"

"I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too Bells" Emily said. She told the girl to sleep because she was about to break down and she didn't want the girl to hear her crying any longer.

Bella handed the phone to Penelope and laid back down. Derek laid next to her.

"Garcia anything just call me okay?" Emily said.

"Okay okay sure" Penelope said.

"Bye" Emily said and hung up without even waiting for Penelope to say goodbye.

Penelope put the phone away and laid down.

"Aww sugarplum." She said tucking Bella's hair behind her ear. The girl moved closer to her.

"You stay right her between us" Penelope smiled at Bella, who closed her eyes, and then she looked at Derek who was smiling back. He loved the way Penelope talked to the child.

"Goodnight baby girls" he said.

"Goodnight" Penelope smiled and Bella stayed quiet. 

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In DC, Emily just broke down.

The moment she hung up she started sobbing. She just felt horrible. She felt powerless. She just wanted to fly to NYC and grab the girl and run. She wanted her daughter by her side, she needed Bella.

Things weren't like before, when John was alive, things were never going to be like that.

And Isabella's place was right there with her.

She just hoped the judge could see that. 

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 **(Monday)**

Bella woke up and the first thing she asked was if she could call Emily. She called and they talked just a little bit about their plans for the day. Emily was so happy to hear Isabella's voice again, now sounding happier. Emily reminded the girl to tell the truth and make sure to tell the judge exactly what she wanted.

They got ready to go and Bella insisted on wearing the Matilda the musical T-shirt Penelope had bought and her Star Wars beanie. She wore that and jeans, her black winter coat and her doc martins. She carried her Eloise plush.

She just looked adorable.

They headed to the airport and flew back home. Bella was really excited because she would get to see Emily on the next day. When they got to DC Derek drove to Penelope's house. They left their bags there and headed to the judge's office for interviews. The judge had talked to the rest of the team and to some doctors from Seattle. He found out that Jeremy hadn't told anyone about it which he didn't like it at all.

Penelope went in first and she came out crying.

"Why are you crying?" Bella asked scared.

"Nothing bunny. Don't you know your aunt penny is a waterfall" Penelope said and the girl smiled.

Suddenly the judge called for Morgan and he left Bella with Penelope. They played a game on Isabella's phone while waiting.

The judge asked Morgan about Emily at work and the trips and how she was with Bella and things like that. He also asked about Jeremy's relationship with the girl and Derek mentioned that Bella told him that Jeremy gave her a shot so she could sleep. The judge didn't like that a lot but he knew how things like that could be hard for kids and it wasn't unusual for them to get sleeping pills and the shot was sort of like that. He just didn't like the fact that they forced her to take.

The interview didn't take very long. Derek got out and they went to have lunch. Isabella's interview was at 3 so they had some time to kill. They ate at a Mexican restaurant and then had ice cream and headed back for the interview.

"Let's go in Sweetie?" Sarah asked.

Isabella handed her Eloise to Penelope and took Sarah's hand. She was nervous and she couldn't stop thinking about the judge's kids. She walked in the man's office with Sarah, the social worker. She was very nervous and scared.

"Hi Isabella. How's everything?" The judge asked.

"Good" she said sitting down.

"How was your trip to New York?" He asked.

"Good" Bella said.

"Just good?" He smiled.

"Awesome sir" Bella smiled back.

"I'm glad to hear" he said. "Tell me something fun that you did there"

"Umm.. We saw musicals" she said.

"Really? Which ones?" He asked.

"Matilda and wicked" Bella said.

"Oh that's cool. I've seen wicked before" he said.

"And did you call or text your mom and your brother while you were there?" He asked.

"Yes. Just my mom" Bella said.

"Just your mom? Why not your brother?" He asked intrigued.

"I don't know I just didn't" Bella answered honestly.

"When you lived in Seattle did you talk to him a lot?" The judge asked and Bella couldn't help but feel nervous to talk about Jeremy.

"I guess" she said.

The judge just stared waiting for a better answer.

"I'd see him but I wouldn't call him or text him a lot" Bella said.

"And how about your mom? Would you talk to her a lot?" He asked.

"Sometimes. She was always the one to call" Bella said.

"Did she call you every day or every week?" He asked.

"Every couple days I think" Bella said picking her nails.

"Alright" he said reading something on a file. He took some time reading it and Bella couldn't help. She had to ask him.

"Sir? Can I ask you question?" She said and the judge looked up.

"Yes, go ahead" he said.

"The other day I looked up your name on the internet and I found out that your wife died and your kids stay with you. Is that true?" She said shyly.

"yes it is true." He said not knowing exactly where the child was going with that.

"Well, I was thinking about it and how are you different from my mom?" She said and the man just stayed silent waiting for her to explain.

"I mean you're a judge and you chose if people go to jail or not, and my mom is the person that sort of brings the bad guys here so you can make that decision. If you and Jeremy thinks that her job is dangerous because of this, wouldn't your job be too? And if it is then why do you get to have your kids with you and I can't stay with my mom?" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

The judge was speechless. So the girl kept going.

"I just don't think it's right. You know? You have a 12 year old and I'm gonna be eleven soon, We're almost the same age and just imagine if someone took him from you. It's not right." She said now crying. "Just imagine if your oldest kid did this to you. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose your son. And my mom doesn't want to lose me." Bella said and she noticed the judge had tears in his eyes. "I just want to stay with mommy sir. I love Jeremy but he is just my brother and he should be just that" Bella said and wiped her face.

The judge was trying hard not to cry. The girl had a point and she was absolutely right.

"Thank you for telling me" he told her serious. "You can go now" he said and Bella felt scared. She felt like she might have gone too far, the man looked upset.

"Let's go?" Sarah asked wiping her face.

"I'll see you tomorrow" the judge said.

"Bye" Bella said and walked out with Sarah.

"How did it go?" Penelope asked Bella.

"She did amazing today" Sarah said smiling proudly. She had never seen a child talk with their heart like that before.

Bella hugged Derek and just sobbed.

"Hey. What's wrong?" He asked confused. The girl looked fine a couple seconds ago.

"Can we go?" Bella said. She didn't even know why she was crying really. Maybe relief? She wasn't sure. She was scared about the hearing the next day and all she hoped was that the judge understood her and would let her stay with Emily. 

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At Penelope's house they played board games and then Derek headed home. Penelope cooked dinner while Bella showered. Once the girl was done, they ate chicken sandwiches which Bella loved. They watched tv for a while and then headed to bed.

"Penny" Bella said hugging her blanket and Eloise, and Penelope looked at her. "Do you think he'll let me stay with mom?" The girl asked as her eyes shined with tears.

Penelope hugged her and kept running her hand on the girl's back.

"Yes" she said.

"Really?" Bella asked.

"Your mom is the best mom in the world, right?" Penelope said.

"Yes." Bella said. "And I have the best family in the world" the girl added looking at Penelope.

"I love you munchkin" Penelope said smiling. She couldn't believe how much she actually loved that child.

"I love you too" Bella said and closed her eyes.

It didn't take long for them to sleep. 

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That night Emily sat in bed and couldn't stop thinking about her girl. She was so scared about the hearing that she ended up having a horrible night. She barely slept and when she did she kept waking up because of nightmares.

She just hoped the next night would be fine and she would have her baby right by her side again.


	50. Chapter 50: The Judge's Decision

**(Tuesday)**

Emily woke up around 5am and couldn't go back to sleep so she decided to clean the apartment. She started in her bedroom then moved to downstairs. It wasn't a major cleaning; she was just tiding things a little. She had some coffee and started on that floor. Once she finished downstairs she moved to Isabella's bedroom. She couldn't help but feel really nervous about the hearing that afternoon. She was really scared.

Once she finished there she decided to head to the kitchen and grab something to eat. She sat at the living room eating a grilled cheese and watched some tv. She had a lot of time to kill since the hearing was only at 2pm. 

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Penelope woke up at 7:30 and stayed in bed watching tv while Bella was fast asleep next to her. Isabella woke up that morning with a jump. She had had another terrible dream.

She sat on the bed and Penelope jumped next to her.

"Oh my god! Are you okay? You scared me to death bunny" Penelope said putting her hand on her heart.

"I'm fine. Sorry" Bella said feeling bad.

Penelope saw the girl's face and just knew she wasn't fine at all. "Oh sugar, come here" she said hugging Bella.

"I just had a bad dream. I'm sorry I scared you" Bella said fighting her tears.

"It's okay. I'm okay, see?" Penelope said letting go of the hug with a big smile. Bella smiled back and Penelope tucked some hair behind the girl's ear.

"How about pancakes today?" Penelope asked smiling.

"With whip cream?" Bella smiled.

"With all the whip cream you want!" Penelope said and they headed to the kitchen.

.

"I think I've had enough" Bella said after the second pancake.

"Only two?" Penelope asked.

"I think I'm nervous. I don't feel very good" Isabella said honestly.

Penelope made an understanding face. She knew the girl couldn't eat very well when she was really nervous or upset.

Isabella felt as tears filled her eyes. She was just scared. She wanted Emily.

"Oh Bellie" Penelope said walking to the girl when she saw the tears.

"I just want my mommy" Bella said as Penelope hugged her tight.

"I know bunny" Penelope said as tears rolled down her cheeks too. She just couldn't see the girl upset. "You'll see her today. Don't worry" she said. Bella got out of the stool and they headed to the couch.

"Let's watch some tv, how about that?" Penelope said smiling trying to make the girl feel a little better.

"Okay" Bella said laying down with her head on Penelope's lap.

Penelope put on ''Once Upon A Time' and they just sat there watching it without saying a word.

Bella ended up falling asleep and since the day would be long and she would probably be very emotional, Penelope let her sleep. 

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Around 10:30, Derek stopped by.

"Hey, how's my princess doing?" Derek asked Penelope.

"We'll this princess is doing fine" Penelope said smiling. "But that little one, not so much" she said making a face.

"Did she sleep on the couch the whole night?" Derek asked.

"No. She woke up from a nightmare but she seemed okay so we had breakfast and then she started crying so I thought maybe the tv would keep her mind out of things and she ended up falling asleep " Penelope explained.

"Maybe that's better" Derek said.

"Yeah" Penelope said and there was a little bit of silence as they both just watched the small child sleep. "Well... There's pancake" Penelope said and Derek smiled. They went to the kitchen, sat on the stools and Derek ate Isabella's leftover pancakes.

"Have you talked to Emily?" Penelope asked him.

"No" Derek said.

"She'll get to see Emily today, right?" Penelope asked concern.

"Yeah I think so" Derek said.

"Do you mind coming with us?" Penelope asked and Derek smiled and held her hand.

"Everything will be okay" he told her and she smiled.

"I don't know what I would do without you beautiful human" Penelope said and they laughed. 

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Around 11:20, Derek woke Bella up so they could go out to have lunch and then head to the hearing. The girl didn't look very excited at all but took a shower and got ready. She walked out of the bathroom wearing white tights and a navy blue dress with little white skulls and polka dots on it, that Derek had picked out for her when they were in New York.

"Do you want some help?" Penelope asked and Bella nodded and walked to her. Penelope combed the child's hair and did a half up. "Go get your coat and your shoes, pumpkin" she said once she finished.

Penelope picked up the child's backpack and waited at the door with Derek.

Bella put her shoes and her black winter coat on and took Penelope's hand and they headed out.

They had lunch at Olive Garden and Penelope and Derek could notice how nervous Isabella was. She barely ate anything; she just played around with the food.

"Not hungry munchkin?" Penelope asked and Bella shook her head no.

"How about ice cream?" Derek said and Penelope just gave him a look. She wasn't going to let the girl have ice cream for lunch. "What? It has milk in it" Derek said and they all bursted into laugher, including Isabella.

"So do you want ice cream?" Penelope asked Bella.

"No thanks" she said looking sad again.

"Sweetie not eating isn't gonna help" Derek said.

"I'll eat this" Bella said putting a bit of pasta in her mouth. "Not all though" she added.

"Okay. Eat as much as you can" Derek said smiling.

The girl managed about 5 full forks and then said she was done.

"Ice cream now?" Penelope asked.

"No. How about ummn a donuts?" Bella said.

"Okay! A donut it is" Penelope smiled happy that the child wanted to eat something.

They headed to a Dunkin Donuts close by and say to eat their donuts.

"Is that entire police plus donuts really a thing?" Bella asked Derek.

He couldn't help but laugh. "In some cases" he smiled and took a big bite of his donut.

Isabella and Penelope started laughing.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked confused.

"Umm you have some frosting on your face" Bella said and Penelope and her laughed even more as Derek kept missing the place where the frosting was.

"It's here" Bella said showing it on her own face and he finally got it.

"Wow that was tough" he said making they laugh more.

"Well let me have this one or he'll get it everywhere again" Bella said getting the last donut from the box.

"Smart pants" Derek said and Bella laughed and took a bite of the donut.

"so let's go?" Penelope said and Bella's face completely changed.

"It's going to be okay princess" Derek said. "We'll be right there with you" he added taking her hand.

"Okay. Let's go" Bella said putting the half eaten donut back on the box and standing up.

"You won't finish that?" Penelope asked.

"No" Bella said shaking her head.

Derek stood up and took the girl's hand and they walked to the car.

"Can you sit on the back with me aunt penny?" Bella asked.

"Of course I can." Penelope said smiling trying to light up the mood.

They went inside the car and Derek drove to the courthouse. 

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Emily put on a suit with a light pink blouse and her regular work shoes. She wanted to look serious and capable and she thought that outfit could help. JJ stopped by to pick her up.

Jennifer had called that morning and asked if she could because she thought it could help with whatever the outcome was. Emily knew that if she got Bella the girl would want to be close to her, and she also knew that if she didn't she wouldn't want to be alone. So she said yes.

"How are you?" JJ said as Emily entered the car.

"I'm fine" Emily said with a smile.

"You're stubborn as hell" JJ said.

"Glad you know me" Emily said and they laughed.

"I'm nervous and... scared of course" Emily said. "How's Henry?" She asked changing the subject.

"He's alright. But he's asking me all the time when Bella will stop by to finish that Harry Potter book" JJ said and Emily smiled.

"He adores her" JJ said.

"I'm sure she'll love to stop by to read him stories sometime" Emily said with a smile trying to push away her fears.

The rest of the ride was quiet. JJ respected the fact that Emily was nervous and seemed like she wanted some space to deal with her emotions, so she stayed quiet.

When they got to the courthouse they met with Hotch, Rossi and Spencer who were waiting at the door.

"Are they here yet?" Emily asked.

"No" Reid said.

"Where's Derek?" JJ asked.

"He's coming with them" Rossi said.

Emily went to talk with her lawyer, Marcus Clark.

"They want her to wait with the social worker again but she can see you before we go in" he told her.

"Okay" Emily said.

"You can stay at the door if you'd like" he said. She smiled and walked back to where the team was.

"Let's go in?" Rossi asked.

"We'll save your seats" Reid said and went inside with Rossi.

Hotch and JJ stayed right there with Emily. Hilary arrived shortly after and they waited for Bella at the entrance. 

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The entire ride, Isabella had a tight grip on Penelope's hand.

When they got there Isabella froze. She was terrified.

"Let's go honey" Penelope said as she walked out and Bella just sat there.

Derek opened the girl's door. "Come on out" he said but she didn't move. He went to pick her up but she pushed him.

"No. I wanna go back" she said as tears began to fall.

"Honey" Derek said but she pushed him again. "Come here. It's okay. Come here." He said and picked her up. The girl just kept crying. "Let's go see your mama" he said and walked to the entrance with Penelope.

.

Emily saw them approach and her heart ached at the sight of the small girl crying in his arms.

"She didn't want to leave the car" Derek told.

Emily went close to Isabella's head and said "hi"

Isabella turned her head to Emily and Derek put her down and she just hugged her mother.

Emily's eyes got full as she wrapped her arms around her daughter who was sobbing now.

"It's okay. Shuuuuuuuu. It's going to be okay" she picked Bella up and started rubbing circles on her back. "Shuuuuu it's alright"

Bella started calming down but didn't lift her head off of Emily's shoulder.

"Hey, Chloe asked me to give you this" Hilary said handing a bear to the girl. "Thanks" Bella said almost a whisper taking the bear and they smiled.

Suddenly the social worker, Sarah went to talk to them.

"Excuse me" Sarah said and they turned to her. "It's about to start" she said and Isabella immediately tightened her grip on Emily.

"It's okay. I'll see you in a little bit" Emily said putting Bella down.

"Let's go watch a movie while we wait sweetie" Sarah said.

"No. I wanna stay with you" the girl cried.

"You'll see her soon" Sarah said.

"No" Bella cried and hugged Emily.

Penelope saw there was no way Bella would go anywhere with Sarah so she said "how about if I go too?"

"Would that be alright?" Penelope asked Sarah now.

"Of course" Sarah said.

"Huh? I'll be right there with you" Penelope said.

Bella looked at Emily not sure about it.

"I'll see you in a little bit. Sarah will make sure of that. Right Sarah?" Emily said.

"I will. Don't worry" Sarah said with a smile.

Emily wiped Isabella's face and hugged her again. "Go with aunt penny baby" she said.

"Okay" Bella said and took Garcia's hand.

"We'll see you soon" Penelope said and they walked to the small waiting room.

Emily's heart broke as she watched Bella walk away. She went inside and just hoped she would be able to take her daughter home soon. 

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Bella watch next to Penelope on the couch while they watched 'The Princess and the frog' keeping a tight grip on her new bear. She had stopped crying but she had not said a word. Penelope could see how scared and tense the child was. She just hoped she would be babysitting again for Emily soon. She couldn't even imagine that child going with Jeremy. 

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Emily sat next to Marcus and pushed her tears away. She saw Jeremy sitting on the other side and she felt like punching him for making her baby go through all this pain.

The judge walked in and they stood politely then sat back down.

"The case is Prentiss versus Marshall. Full custody of the minor Isabella Marshall, 10 years old..." The judge started.

Emily sat there feeling her heart pound on her head as she listened to the judge go on and on about the interviews and evaluations. She was sweating and biting her nails from time to time.

"I have to say I've never seen such a young child be so sure, and as a judge but also a father is my duty to take everything she told me in consideration" the judge said and paused.

Emily's heart was beating so fast.

"After deep evaluation the state agrees the child is not in danger in the cares of her mother. With that said, the state grants full custody of the minor to Emily Prentiss. With no right to appeal." The judge said.

As those words filled her ears Emily let out a deep breath, one she'd been holding since she sat there.

She did it. She got her baby back.

She was beyond happy. Her eyes filled with tears and she was smiling so big. She just wanted to go tell Bella and take the girl back home.

"The case is closed" the judge said and left the room. The entire team cheered and went to talk to her.

Derek hugged her and said "ready to take your girl home?"

"Yes" Emily said smiling.

"Congratulations" Marcus Clark said.

"Thank you for everything" Emily said shaking his hand.

"You should go tell her" Hotch said knowing the girl was probably very nervous and anxious waiting for news.

Emily nodded and started walking out.

Suddenly Jeremy appeared in front of her.

"Can I just say goodbye?" He asked.

Emily stopped and said "unlike you, I'm not going to prohibit her to see you. If she's up for it you can visit her anytime. She's your sister. And that's what your father would want"

"Thank you. And I'm sorry" Jeremy said.

"But today I don't think it's a good idea" Emily said and Jeremy looked understanding. "I'll talk to her and I'll call you if she decides she's up for it"

"Okay" he said and walked away. He was embarrassed he had lost. But he felt weird. He thought he would be angry if Emily won but he just felt sad.

"I thought you were going to punch him" JJ said.

"I've got her. That's what matters nothing else" Emily smiled and walked to the small waiting room. 

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Emily walked in to find Isabella hugging Penelope and watching a movie.

"Hey" Emily said and the girl turned to look at her. When Bella saw it was Emily she dropped her bear on the floor and ran to her mother's arms. Emily picked the girl up and Bella wrapped her arms around Emily's neck hugging her tight.

"Can we go home?" Bella asked without lifting her head up from Emily's shoulder.

"Yes baby" Emily said smiling and Penelope started crying.

Bella lifted her head and looked right at Emily's eyes. "You won?" The girl's question came out almost a whisper as her eyes filled with tears.

Emily nodded yes and Bella hugged her tight again.

"Can I stay with you now?" Bella asked crying.

"Yes you can." Emily said. "And it's forever." She added smiling.

Penelope was crying but also smiling. She was so happy it was all over and they could go home and be happy again. She wrapped her arms around Emily and Bella, and the team and Hilary laughed. They were all at the door watching the scene.

"So how about we go celebrate?" Derek asked walking in.

"Sure" Emily said putting Bella down but keeping an arm over her shoulder.

"I wanna go home" Bella said almost a whisper and hugged Emily again.

"Look at me" Emily said kneeing down and Bella payed attention. "You're staying with me Bells. No one can take you away now."

Bella looked down as tears rolled down her cheeks and Emily just knew.

"I know I said that before but the judge made his decision and nobody can ever take you away. They can't even try to get you now. You're mine. You're my baby." Emily said and Bella hugged her.

"She's our baby" Derek said.

Emily picked Bella up. "Did you hear that? The team has our back" Emily said.

"They are family mommy" Bella said shyly.

"Yes they are" Emily said and Bella smiled.

Everyone was smiling and Penelope and JJ had tears in their eyes.

"Well, since I'm your favorite uncle do you-" Derek started.

"Hey that's debatable" Reid interrupted and everyone laughed.

"I just know it guys. Sorry" Derek said and smiled at Bella who was smiling too. "Anyways, do you mind me choosing where we go?" He said.

"No" she smiled shaking her head as Emily wiped a few tears off the child's face.

"How about Outback?" He said.

"Do you wanna go there?" Emily asked Bella smiling and Isabella nodded yes. "Alright" Emily said putting the girl down and taking her hand.

Emily walked out to the car feeling like she could breathe again. She could finally breathe.

Hilary headed home and the team went to celebrate. 

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At Outback Bella sat next to Emily and didn't let go of her hand. Emily threw her arm around the girl and Bella relaxed.

"So what do you want?" Emily asked Bella.

"Fries?" Bella said not sounding very sure.

"Do you want to share with me?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes smiling.

"Alright. Fries and filet mignon. How about that?" Emily asked smiling.

"Okay" Bella said.

Everyone ordered and conversations started around the table. Bella sat quietly listening to everyone but she didn't talk much. Derek noticed the girl was quiet so he started making silly faces at her and she laughed. The food got there and they ate and talked.

Bella was still holding on to Emily.

"Hey. I'm not going anywhere" Emily said and Bella just looked embarrassed. "Come here" Emily said and pulled Bella to her lap.

They ate their fries and Emily couldn't be happier to have her baby in her arms again.

"Oh oh Bella! I learned this the other day. Look!" Spencer said from across the table taking a deck of cards out of his pocket.

"What is it?" Bella asked interested.

"It's magic" JJ said making a bored face. She had seen the trick over and over since her had learned a few days before.

He did the trick and Bella was so confused by it.

"It's pretty cool, right?" Spencer asked excited.

"But how... How do you..?" Bella said confused and the entire team laughed.

"I'll teach you." He said. "JJ can we change seats?" He asked.

"Sure" JJ said standing up and Reid took her seat next to Emily. He explained the trick to Bella and she tried it.

"That's awesome. You can show Gavin and Chloe" Emily told the girl who smiled excited. She missed her friends very much.

Bella kept talking about magic tricks with Spencer till she spotted Chloe entering the restaurant with Hilary.

"Chloe!" The girl said running to hug her friend. She missed her so much.

"JJ send me a text so I brought Chloe" Hilary said smiling.

"Join us" Emily smiled.

Bella walked back with Chloe and they sat next to each other.

"My mom said you were in New York. How was it?" Chloe asked excited.

"It was good" Bella smiled shyly.

"Tell me more. What did you do there?" Chloe said.

"Well we went ice skating and walked around the city, stuff like that" Bella said.

"Tell her what we watched" Penelope smiled.

"We went to see Matilda" Bella said.

"Really?" Chloe asked excited.

"Yeah. It was so cool" Bella said shyly grabbing Emily's hand. The thoughts of those days without Emily filled her mind.

"I promise that sometime soon I'll take you two back there to see it together" Emily said and Bella smiled.

"Really?" Chloe asked excited.

"If your mom allows" Emily said.

"Of course I do" Hilary said and Chloe smiled big at Bella.

The girl's kept talking about New York, and school, and things like that.

Emily just smiled watching her daughter go on and on about things. She looked around the table and smiled big. She was glad she had all of them.

She was happy to be celebrating with her family but she really just wanted to take Isabella home.

She let the girl talk and finish her fries and then she asked if Bella wanted to go home.

"Yes" Bella said hugging Emily.

"Alright. So say goodbye to everyone" Emily said letting go of the hug.

"Bye" Bella said smiling.

"Hey who's driving?" JJ asked.

"We'll get a cab" Emily said.

"Oh come one. I'll drive" JJ said smiling already standing up.

"See you soon monkey" Penelope said and Bella smiled.

"Let's go?" Emily asked the child smiling and taking her hand. Bella nodded yes and they headed out.

"Go on the back with her Em." JJ said noticing Bella wasn't smiling anymore. She just knew the girl was still scared.

Emily got on the back with Bella and they went home. JJ dropped them off.

"Look Henry wants you to finish that Harry Potter book so we have to schedule something" JJ said and Bella smiled. She missed him.

"Bye." JJ said. "Anything just call" she added looking at Emily.

Emily nodded and they walked inside the building. 

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Isabella anxiously waited for her mother to open the door. She missed her bed and Tramp and Sergio and even the couch. She missed home.

"How about a movie now?" Emily asked Bella as they walked in.

"Sure" Bella said smiling.

"Go get on the couch" Emily said excited and Bella ran to the couch.

"Serg!" Bella said spotting the cat. Sergio got out of the window and laid on the couch next to the girl, who started petting him. "I missed you buddy" Bella said and the cat jumped off making both women laugh.

Emily put on 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and sat next to Bella.

"Mommy?" Bella said.

"Yes" Emily smiled tucking the girl's hair behind her ear.

Bella smiled and jumped to her mother's lap. Emily wrapped her arms around her baby and let out a laugh.

"I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too. So so so so soooo much" Emily said kissing the girl's head with every 'so', making Bella laugh.

"Can I sleep on your bed tonight?" Bella asked shyly.

"You can sleep there for as long as you like" Emily said. She wanted nothing more than her baby sleeping next to her. "Well..." Emily started getting into a comfortable position on the couch with Bella on her lap. "While we stay downstairs, how about you stay right here?" She said tightening the hug. Bella laid her head on Emily's chest. "Yeah. Just like this" Emily said soothing the girl's hair. 

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Around the middle of the movie the buzzer rang.

"Let me go get it" Emily said and Bella sat on the couch.

"Who is it?" Emily asked.

"It's me. She forgot her bag." Penelope said.

"Come on up" Emily smiled and buzzed Garcia in.

"Garcia is coming up" Emily told Bella who just gave her a little smile.

It wasn't long till the doorbell rang. Emily opened to find Penelope with a blue backpack super full, a suitcase and a bear.

"Oh my god this is heavy" Emily said taking the backpack from Penelope.

"Her blanket is in there" Penelope said.

"Wow" Emily said.

"Wow what?" Penelope asked confused.

"She has not even mentioned it" Emily said.

"Of course not. She's with her mama. What else could she want right now?" Penelope smiled.

Emily smiled back placing the backpack on the island and the suitcase close to the stairs.

"Hey you" Garcia said walking to the couch.

"Hi" Bella said. Penelope hugged her.

"Well I must go. You two need some mommy-daughter time" Penelope smiled walking to the door.

"Thank you for everything Garcia" Emily said.

"Anytime mama bear" Penelope said and hugged Emily and then left.

Emily went back to the couch and Bella wanted to be in her arms again.

"You forgot your bags. Your blanket was there" Emily said handing it to the girl.

Emily and Bella watched the movie and then watched some tv. Around 7:30, Emily decided they should have dinner.

"So how about pizza tonight?" She asked smiling at the girl who was still on her arms.

Bella smiled back. "Sounds perfect" the little girl said.

"Let me get the phone" Emily said starting to get up. Bella sat on the couch and Emily ordered the food. She sat next to the girl and Bella laid her head on her mother's lap.

"Mom, do I have to go school tomorrow?" Bella asked looking up at Emily.

"Not tomorrow. Why?" Emily asked soothing the girl's hair.

"Nothing" Bella said.

"Hey. I know you well enough to know it's not nothing" Emily said making a face expecting an explanation.

"It's nothing. I just want to stay home with you tomorrow" Bella said.

"You can stay home with me till next Monday" Emily smiled. "But then you have to go to school" she added.

"Okay" Bella smiled and turned back to face the tv.

Emily smiled and they just watched tv. The pizza got there and they sat at the island to eat.

"So how about a nice warm bath and then bed?" Emily asked Bella once they both had finished eating.

"A shower is fine" Bella said.

"Alright. You chose." Emily smiled and Bella finished drinking her Coke. "All done?" Emily asked and Bella nodded jumping out of the stool. Emily smiled, grabbed the girl's hand and they headed upstairs.

Isabella showered and put on her pajamas, pants and long sleeves as usual, and headed downstairs to get her blanket. She got it and then went to the kitchen island and got her backpack. She carried it upstairs and put it on her bed. She took some things out. She put her Yoda plush on her bed and took her Eloise plush and Tramp with her to Emily's bed. She laid down and hugged her toys and blanket and just waited for Emily to finish showering.

Emily got out of the bathroom and smiled at the sight of her daughter waiting for her on the bed.

"Is this your new doll?" Emily asked turning the light off.

"Yeah. Penelope gave it to me" Bella said.

"Eloise?" Emily smiled getting on the bed next to the girl.

"Yes" Bella said. Putting her things aside and hugging Emily.

Emily laughed. "Come here" she said pulling Bella to her lap.

Isabella's eyes filled with tears so she hid her face.

"I've got you" Emily said just knowing the girl would cry. "I'm right here. Mommy is here" she said running her hand on Isabella's arm and the girl just cried. "It's okay" she said.

"Im just so happy" Bella said between sobs.

"You're crying because you're happy?" Emily asked smiling.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Oh baby. I'm so happy too" Emily said tightening the hug.

"Come on let's lay down and try to get some sleep huh?" Emily said. Bella laid down next to Emily and hugged her blanket. Emily kept on arm around the girl.

"I love you mommy" Bella said closing her eyes.

"I love you too Bells" Emily said tightening her grip around the girl.

It wasn't long till they fell asleep.

Both relaxed in each other's arms.

Both happy to be together again. 

* * *

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 ****** Hey! so what do you think? please let me know =)**

 **ps: this is NOT the end of the story haha there is more, dont worry**


	51. Chapter 51: Those Sweet Moments

**(Wednesday)**

Emily woke up and smiled as she noticed Isabella's tight grip on her shirt. She soothed the girl's hair and just stayed like that for a while. She was so happy her baby was home again.

She checked the clock and it was already 10 so she decided to wake the child up.

"Hey. Bellie. Wake up mom amour" Emily sang soothing the girl's hair. Isabella moved a little and opened her eyes.

"Hi" Emily said.

Listening to that word Bella hugged Emily tight. She felt like it had been a dream that she was back home but she was wrong. It was real.

"Good morning" Emily said.

"Morning mommy" Bella said letting go of the hug, her eyes were full.

"Let's have breakfast?" Emily asked and Bella nodded with a smile fighting her tears. She was so happy to be home.

They headed down and Emily made toasts with Nutella. They ate and then decided to go back to Emily's bed and watch some tv. They laid next to each other and watched 'Doctor who' till about 1pm. Emily decided they should eat lunch so they made spaghetti together, which turned the kitchen into a crazy mess as they had fun and played around. It was sweet moments like that that always made Emily see that she was doing a good job with the girl.

They ate lunch, cleaned the kitchen and then sat in the living room to watch a movie. 20 minutes into it Bella fell asleep. Emily let her sleep and just sat there watching tv and working on some paperwork.

Around 4 Bella woke up.

The girl opened her eyes and smiled as she noticed her mom was staring at her. Emily smiled back.

Bella got out of the couch she was laying at and sat on Emily's lap.

"Did you have a good nap?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. "And what did you do?"

"Just watched tv and finished some paperwork" Emily said.

"When are you going back to work?" Bella asked.

"next week" Emily said.

"Are you going on a case?" Bella asked a bit scared.

"Maybe. But you'll be okay with Aunt Penny" Emily said.

"But what if those girls say things at school?" Bella asked a little upset.

"How about if Garcia picked you up earlier? And then on the next day you stay regular hours?" Emily suggested. "And if they say anything you can call her or me" she added.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Anything she'll pick me up?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily said smiling and hugged the girl.

"Well... Let's not talk about school okay? I wanna see all the pictures from New York" Emily said excited.

"It's on my phone" Bella said getting out of Emily's lap and running to the stairs.

Emily turned the tv off and followed the girl.

They sat on Isabella's bed and looked at the pictures while the girl went on and on about everything they did. Then Bella showed Emily the all the things Derek and Penelope bought for her.

"Wow they really spoiled you" Emily smiled.

"I didn't ask for anything. I swear" Bella said and Emily laughed.

They just talked for a long time. Around 7, they ate leftover spaghetti and Bella asked if they could go get ice cream.

"Ice cream shop or supermarket?" Emily asked smiling.

"supermarket" Bella said. "Can we buy toppings too?" Bella asked excited.

"We sure can" Emily smiled. "Let's change." She said. They were still wearing pajamas so they changed their clothes and headed out. They went to Walmart and bought chocolate, vanilla and mint ice cream and also a bunch of different things to put in it. When they got home they ate and had a great time. Emily was just so so so happy, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Mommy, why are you smiling so much?" Bella asked laughing.

"I'm happy you're home" Emily said honestly.

"I'm happy too" Bella said with a smile.

They finished eating, took a shower and headed to Emily's bed. Emily put a movie on and laid next to the girl.

It didn't take long for Bella to sleep.

Emily stayed awake watching a movie. Around midnight Bella sat on the bed and struggled to catch a breath. She was so scared. She had a horrible dream. Emily touched the child's arm and Bella jumped unsure who it was but when she saw it was her mom she just jumped in her arms and hugged her.

"It's okay baby. Just breathe. It's alright." Emily said rubbing circles on the young girl's back. Bella calmed down and was really embarrassed about the situation. Emily let the child lay on her chest and kept running her fingers through the girl's hair. Bella ended up crying herself to sleep that night and Emily felt horrible for the girl. She knew that with everything Bella had gone through since John passed away it was likely nightmares would show up from time to time. She was ready for them. But every time it happened it just broke her heart.

She laid the girl down on the bed but kept hugging her. Bella moved a little.

"Shuuuuuuuu it's okay. I'm here" Emily whispered tightening the hug.

The girl looked peaceful now and Emily smiled. She knew Bella would be okay. 

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 **(Thursday)**

They didn't do much on Thursday. They watched tv all morning on Emily's bed and after school Chloe and Gavin stopped by so Emily took them to the pool. While the kids were playing in the pool Emily called Penelope and talked about Isabella's birthday on Saturday.

"Are we going to have a party? Or just go out? Or a picnic maybe? Or a-" Penelope asked talking really fast and excited.

"Garcia calm down" Emily laughed.

"Sorry I'm just excited" Penelope said.

"I know" Emily smiled. "Look I was thinking maybe we could do something at the park"

"her park?" Penelope asked referring to the park with the bench that faced the lake.

"Yeah. She loves that place" Emily said. "We could invite her friends and the team and have hotdogs and cake"

"Yeah! I think she'll love that" Penelope said excited.

"I want it to be a surprise though" Emily said.

"Yes! I looooove surprise parties" Penelope said.

"Alright. So tomorrow why don't you come here with JJ and we can organize it all?" Emily suggested.

"Okay okay" Garcia said super happy. "I'll let J know!"

"Alright then I'll see you tomorrow" Emily said.

"See ya soon sugarplum. Oh and send kisses to my minion" Penelope said.

"I will. Bye" Emily said and hung up. 

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They stayed in the pool till 6 and then they showered, watched a movie and had dinner together. Emily just loved seeing her girl have fun with her friends. Later at night both kids went home and Bella sat on the couch with Emily to watch a tv show.

"Did you have fun today?" Emily asked as she wrapped Bella in a hug.

"Yeah" Bella said. "We should go to the pool more mommy" she smiled and Emily laughed.

"We should" Emily said. "Lay here on my lap" Emily said and Bella laid her head on her mother's lap.

"Mom, did you talk to Jeremy after the judge said I could stay with you?" Bella asked.

"Yes. But why are you asking me this?" Emily asked.

"Nothing" Bella said avoiding eye contact.

"Hey hey Bells" Emily said and Bella looked at her.

"It's just that he must be upset" Bella said.

"He was a little" Emily said and Bella looked serious. "He wanted to talk to you... But I thought it wasn't a good idea" Emily said.

"You thought it right." Bella said serious. "I hate him" she said.

"Bella" Emily said feeling bad. "Look honey, I know what he did was bad but he's your brother and I know your dad wouldn't want you to hate him" Emily said. Even though Jeremy hurt both of them she understood he was scared and acted without thinking.

"But he wanted to take me away from you. Dad wouldn't want him to do that too." Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

They both stayed silent for a while and then Bella asked "can you love someone and hate them at the same time?"

"I'm sure you can" Emily said letting a little smile appear on her face. She hated what Jeremy did but she wanted them to get along. For John. She needed them to.

Emily soothed the girl's hair and it wasn't long till Bella was out.

She finished watching an episode of Masterchef and carried the sleeping girl upstairs. She placed Bella on her bed and laid next to the child who stayed asleep the entire time. She was tired from playing in the pool.

Emily covered Bella up and held her hand. It wasn't long till she slept too. 

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 **(Friday)**

Bella woke up that morning and smiled seeing Emily staring at her.

"Bonjour" Emily said.

"Bonjour mommy" Bella said.

"Did you sleep well?" Emily asked.

"Oui" Bella said. "Pouvons- nous porter un toast avec Nutella à nouveau?" (Can we have Toasts with Nutella again?) Bella asked in french.

"Of course we can" Emily said smiling and hugged the girl. "Let's go" she said and they headed downstairs.

A little while after they had finished eating the buzzer rang. It was Penelope. Emily buzzed her in and like a flash she was at the door.

"Hi" Emily said excited as she noticed Penelope wasn't alone. JJ and Henry were there too.

"Bella look who's here!" Emily said smiling and Bella walked to the door.

"Henry!" The girl said when she saw him and the little boy ran to her arms.

"Hi Bella" Henry said and melted everyone's heart. "You read to me?" He asked and Bella smiled.

"Sure" she said happily. "Can we go upstairs?" She asked Emily.

"Won't you say hi to them first?" Emily laughed.

"Oh. Hi" Bella said smiling and went to hug JJ and Penelope.

"Go play in your room and we'll be down here" Emily said and the kids went upstairs.

"Aww I just love seeing her happy face" Penelope said and the women smiled.

"So what are the plans for tomorrow?" JJ asked.

They went to sit in the dining room and talked about what Emily had in mind. She said she wanted something small and really just have her closest friends and the team. Penelope suggested the decor and said Derek insisted on buying the ice cream cake. They called everyone to let them know the party would be at 1:30 at the picnic area of the park, where they had tables. They made sure to tell everyone it was a surprise. JJ went to Hilary's apartment and explained it all to her and Chloe was very excited. When JJ got back she found Penelope in the kitchen cooking lunch and Emily sitting at the island as Penelope explained what she was doing. They finished everything and sat in the living room to talk. Suddenly Bella walked in.

"Mom, I'm hungry" she said.

"Go get Henry while we set the table bunny" Penelope yelled from the kitchen. Bella laughed and walked back upstairs.

They sat to eat lunch and when everyone finished Henry said "she not sad anymore mommy"

Everyone smiled and Bella looked a little embarrassed.

"She's not baby" JJ said smiling.

"Can we have ice cream?" Bella said.

"She's not sad at all" Penelope said and everyone laughed.

They ate ice cream and then sat to watch a movie. Once the movie ended JJ and Penelope headed home. Henry cried because he didn't want to leave but JJ promised him another play date soon.

"Do you want to go to the pool now?" Emily asked Bella as they walked back to the living room.

"Only if you go in too" Bella said.

"Okay. Let's go change" Emily smiled and Bella took her hand and they went upstairs. They put swimsuits on and headed to the pool. They had an amazing time and Emily couldn't help but smile at her daughter having fun and just being a normal kid. She didn't have to worry about anything else other than just being a kid.

They stayed there for a long time. Emily wanted to go back to the apartment but Bella insisted on staying longer so Emily gave in. She sat at a table and let the girl play in the pool. Suddenly Derek Morgan called her.

"Hey, I'm at the mall right now and I just wanted to check Bella's clothing size" He said. Emily smiled and told him.

"well, did you have time to buy her something? 'cause I can babysit if you want" he said and Emily laughed.

"I'm still not sure what I want to get her" Emily said. "I was thinking maybe take her and Chloe to New York as I promised" She said.

"Why don't you take them to Disney? I think nothing can top that" Morgan suggested.

"yeah, she'd love that for sure" Emily said.

"Call Hotch and ask for a couple days off and take her down to Florida. She deserves it" He said.

"you know what?! I will." Emily said. She loved the idea. Bella always wanted to go, she knew the girl would really like the present.

"alright" Derek said happy.

"don't mention to her, I want to surprise her" Emily said.

"Don't worry mama" He said.

They talked a bit more and hung up. Emily started noticing Bella was getting tired so she suggested to go back to shower and then maybe stop at a book store. Of course Bella was thrilled so they went back to the apartment. Emily got ready really fast and sat in the living room and called Hilary, she talked about the trip and Hilary let Chloe go, Emily insisted on paying for it. She had a big smile as she hung up the phone. She just knew Isabella would go nuts about it. She sat there waiting for the girl when it hit her. Why not take Gavin too. He was such a good kid and his mother seemed to trust Emily. So Emily called Colette and was really excited when the woman said yes. She knew she would spend a lot of money taking all three kids but she just couldn't wait to see Isabella's face when she found out.

It wasn't long till Bella walked downstairs all ready to go, so they headed out. 

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As Emily walked around the store Penelope called.

"Hey. I'm at the mall. Do you want to meet up for dinner. The minion could use some fresh air" Penelope said.

"We're actually at the book store" Emily smiled.

"Oh so come meet me after." Penelope said.

Emily agreed to meet her at chick-Fil-a and walked to tell Bella. They paid for the books and headed to meet Penelope. They started eating and after a while Emily asked Penelope if she could watch Bella for a while so she could get a new suit for work. She asked making a face to Penelope as if she had another thing planed.

"Mom you have tons of suits" Bella said.

"I know but I saw one the other day that I liked but they didn't have my size so I'm just going to check now" Emily lied.

"You didn't even finish your food" Bella said.

"I'm not really hungry. I'll be right back" Emily said and walked out.

Bella stayed at the food court with Penelope while Emily bought the girl some birthday presents, including the plane tickets to Orlando. She clearly was spoiling the child but after everything that happened and also with the fact that Bella was a really great kid she just knew the girl deserved it. She took all the bags to the car and headed back to the food court.

"Why did you take so long?" Bell asked looking sleepy. "And you didn't even buy anything?" She asked confused.

"They didn't have my size" Emily said.

"So you tried the entire store on?" Bella asked and the women laughed.

"Come on let's go home" Emily smiled and Bella stood up and took her hand. Emily thanked Penelope and they headed home.

Bella fell asleep in the car and Emily felt bad for waking her up. They went inside and Bella went straight to bed, she didn't even change.

Emily tucked her in and said she would go to bed soon. She took the presents to the apartment and wrapped it all and hid them in the back of her closet.

She went to the kitchen to get some water and decided to call Jeremy.

"Hello?" Jeremy answered.

"It's Emily"

"Hi. Is she okay?" He asked.

"Yeah she's perfect. It's just that we're having a little birthday party at the park tomorrow and I thought maybe you should stop by" Emily said.

"She wants to see me?" He asked.

"No, she hasn't talked about seeing you but you're her brother and this is her first birthday without John and I really don't want this to be without you too" Emily said honestly.

"okay" he said. Emily gave him the details and hung up. Then she changed and went to bed.

She wasn't very sure if that was a good idea but she just knew that John wouldn't want his children to grow apart and she knew that Bella loved her brother, even though she was mad at him at the time, and she had the right to be.


	52. Chapter 52: What A Birthday

**(Saturday)**

Emily woke up around 7 and Bella was fast asleep so she changed her clothes, went downstairs and made pancakes with Nutella for breakfast. She sat the table and called Garcia. She invited Penelope for breakfast and the woman couldn't be more excited. She arrived there really fast with cupcakes and donuts. She helped Emily with some balloons and a happy birthday sign. They waited till 9:30 to wake the little girl up.

"Bella" Emily sang soothing the girl's hair. "Let's wake up birthday girl" she said and Bella moved a little. "Time to wake up" Emily said and Bella opened her eyes to find Emily and Penelope staring at her with big smiles on their faces.

"Hi" the girl whispered.

"Happy birthday" Emily said with a smile pushing some hair away from Isabella's face.

"Is my birthday today?" Bella asked confused.

"Yeah" Emily laughed and Bella jumped in her arms. "Happy birthday baby" Emily said hugging the girl and suddenly she felt the girl's body start to shudder. "Oh Bella, it's okay." She said running her hand on the girl's back.

"I wish dad was here" Bella cried.

"I know honey. I'm sorry" Emily said feeling bad. "Hey don't cry. Dad wouldn't want you to be sad today. He would want you to be happy and have fun." Emily said letting go of the hug.

"Yeah. We have a little surprise downstairs" Penelope said smiling and Bella just stared at her.

"Don't cry, okay?" Emily said wiping Isabella's face. She never asked the girl not to cry but that day she wanted Bella to have fun and she knew if she let the girl cry and be upset the day wouldn't probably go as they had planned.

"Let's go eat breakfast" Emily said and they headed downstairs.

"Surprise!" Penelope said as they walked into the dining room.

"Oh my god!" Bella said looking at all the things in the table. "How many people are eating here?" She asked laughing.

"Just us" Emily laughed. They sat and ate and the mood was completely changed. Isabella was happy and excited again. She missed her dad but she knew what her mother said was true. John would want her to be happy and that was what she would try to be.

Be happy and have fun.

They finished eating and sat in the living room.

"Time for presents" Penelope said carrying a big bag on her hands.

"Did you buy the entire store?" Emily laughed.

"No. Probably just half" Penelope said handing the bag to Bella.

"You didn't have to buy me anything. You gave me so many things in New York" Bella said.

"Oh munchkin, you didn't think that your fairy godmother would miss a chance to spoil you a little, did you?" Penelope said and Bella laughed.

"Thank you" Bella said and gave Garcia a hug.

"Go on! Open it up!" Penelope said excited.

Bella sat on the floor and was all smiles as she took the gifts out. She got two seasons of Doctor who, a doctor who backpack, a Harry Potter throw and a doctor who book.

"We'll there's something else" Penelope said and ran to get another bag in the kitchen.

"Garcia that's too much stuff" Emily said.

"This one is special" Penelope said handing a big wrapped box to Bella.

Isabella opened it and smiled big as she saw what it was. "Boots!" She said excited and opening the box really fast.

Penelope got her a new pair of red rain boots. This time it was 'Hunter' Boots.

"Thank you" Bella said dropping it on the floor and running to hug the woman.

"Did you like it?" Penelope asked smiling.

"I loved it" Bella said with a big smile and sat back on the floor to look at all the presents.

"Well my gifts for you must be open only later, okay?" Emily said.

"You got me presents? When?" Bella said.

"Well let's say I found the suit I was looking for" Emily said and Penelope and Bella laughed. Emily checked the time and said "Penelope, how about if we take this birthday girl to have lunch somewhere cool?"

"Oh yeah I think that's a wonderful idea" Penelope said smiling and Bella smiled too.

"Go shower" Emily said with a smiled and Bella ran upstairs leaving all her presents on the floor. Emily put them on the couch.

"You really spoiled her Garcia" Emily said.

"I had too. I couldn't control it" Garcia said and Emily laughed. Emily finished getting ready and took the gifts to the car. She put it all in the trunk and headed back. She went to Isabella's room and placed a brand-new outfit for her. Jeans and a navy blue Minnie Mouse shirt with red polka dots on it.

"Bella, I left a new outfit for you on your bed." Emily told the girl who was drying herself.

"Okay!" Bella yelled and Emily went downstairs.

Bella loved her new clothes. She got dressed and headed downstairs.

"Can you do my braids?" she asked Penelope as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Of course I can" Penelope said happily. She did the girl's hair and smiled at how adorable Isabella looked.

"I can't believe you're 11 now" she said.

"Me neither" Emily said making a face. "Oh god I'm getting old" she added and Bella laughed and ran to her.

"Did you like your outfit?" Emily asked as Bella sat on her lap.

"Yeah" Bella said smiling.

Emily gave the girl a kiss on the cheek. "Go get your shoes on so we can go" Emily said.

"Can I wear that?" Bella said pointing to her new red rain boots.

"Rain boots honey? It's sunny outside" Emily said.

"Pleeeease" Bella begged with puppy dog eyes.

Emily couldn't resist. "Okay. Go get the boots on" she said and smiled.

Bella put it on and they headed out.

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"So where are we going?" Bella asked as she buckled up.

"I'm not sure yet. Let's see" Emily said and started driving.

When they got to the park Bella looked a bit confused.

"What are we doing here?" She asked.

"I thought we could go on a walk before lunch" Emily said.

"A walk? No I'm too tired for that" Bella said and Emily laughed.

"Oh come on. Let's just walk a little" Emily said parking the car. They got out of the car and Bella took Emily's hand.

"Are you having a good birthday so far?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

They walked to the picnic tables and Bella smiled big when she saw everyone.

"Happy birthday!" Spencer said giving her a hug and everyone wished her happy birthday after that too.

"Did you like the surprise?" Derek asked.

"Yeah!" Bella said excited.

The girl absolutely loved everything. She played at the playground with her friends and just had a blast the entire afternoon. Emily didn't know exactly why Jeremy didn't go but she thought maybe it was for the better.

Everyone was happy that Bella was back with Emily and that she seemed happier than ever.

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Around 4 they gathered around the table and it was time for the presents. Bella loved everything she got, from a magician kit and a book Reid gave her, to the Disney gift card Gavin had bought. She loved it all.

As she was playing with some magic cards with Chloe, Emily said "aren't you missing a gift from someone?"

Bella just smiled knowing.

"Here. I hope you like it" Emily said handing a box to Bella.

Isabella opened it and smiled as she saw a bunch of tsum tsums inside. She took one out.

"That's to help you complete your collection" Emily said smiling.

"Thank you" Bella said and gave Emily a hug.

"Keep looking, there's something else inside" Emily said and Bella sat back down and started taking them out till she found a letter.

"You have to read it out loud" Emily said and Bella looked intrigued. She opened the letter and started:

"Dear Bella, I know that the last couple months have been hard, but you showed me how strong and brave you are. I'm sorry for the way you came to live with me but I really don't know what I would do without you by my side." Bella's eyes filled with tears. Emily put her hand on her shoulder so she kept going.

"I love you so much and I want this birthday to be remembered as a good one even though some important people are not here. As you can see you have a new family that will always be here for you no matter what and you might want to thank your uncle Derek for this one because he gave me the idea." Bella finished and she was smiling just like everyone else around her.

"Turn around" Emily said.

Bella turned the paper around and started reading.

"You deserve all the happiness in the world and I know a place you want to visit that can give you just that. So pack your bags!" she read.

"Where are we going?" She asked confused.

"Open this one up" Emily said handing a bag to Bella.

The girl opened it up and took a Mickey Mouse plush out of it.

"Are we going to Disney?" Bella asked turning to Emily and looking very surprised.

"Yes" Emily smiled excited. Isabella's face was even better than what she had pictured it would be.

"We are?" The girl asked in disbelief. "When?"

"Today" Emily said.

"What!?" Bella asked smiling.

"Our plane leaves at 7. And we'll be there till Tuesday night" Emily said.

"We're really going to Disneyland?" She asked as tears filled her eyes.

"Actually Disney World" Emily said.

"What?! Disney World in Florida?!" Bella said.

"Yeah" Emily said with a big smiled.

"Are you serious?" Bella asked crying.

"Oh honey. I'm serious" Emily said picking the girl up and Bella just cried.

The surprise couldn't have gone better.

"Thank you so much" Bella cried.

"You're welcome baby" Emily said putting Bella down.

"I'm so happy" Bella said hugging Emily.

"Oh there's more." She said letting go of the hug. "Gavin and Chloe are coming with us" she said and Bella's jaw dropped.

"We are?" Gavin and Chloe asked in unison and made everybody laugh.

"Yes" their mother said in unison.

Both kids ran to their mothers and started saying thank you.

"Are you serious? This is not a joke? Are we really going today?" Bella asked Emily. She still had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"We are! Why did you think I made you wear that shirt today?" Emily said and Bella laughed.

"Thank you so much mom" Bella said hugging Emily again.

"You deserve it honey" Emily smiled and ran hand on the girl's back.

"I told you she would love it" Derek said. Bella let go of Emily and hugged him. He lifted her up.

"I love you uncle Morgan" Bella said smiling.

"I love you too kid" he said and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"How about some cake now? I'm tired of crying today" Penelope said as Will brought the cake and everyone laughed.

Will placed it on the table and Derek put Bella down. The girl wiped her face and Emily helped.

"Ice cream cake! You remembered" Bella told Derek, excited.

"Of course I did" he smiled.

The girl stood on her knees on the seat as everyone sang happy birthday. She blew her 11 candles proudly with just one big blow.

She wished in her mind that she would have that family forever.

She missed her dad really bad, and she knew she would always miss him but looking around at those people she knew that was her place. She knew that was where she was supposed to be.

With her mother.

With her family.


	53. Chapter 53: The Most Magical Day

"Cut it! Cut it!" Bella said excited waiting to get a piece of her cake. Everyone laughed and Emily cut one very fast and handed it to the girl. Everyone ate cake and the kids went to the playground again. Only Bella stayed sitting next to Emily.

"Why don't you go play a bit more till we have to go?" Emily asked the girl.

"Can I have more cake?" Bella smiled shyly.

Emily let out a laugh. "Of course you can" she said and cut her a piece. Isabella ate and then headed out to play again.

Emily just sat there admiring how happy her baby was.

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In Seattle Jeremy stared at the clock on the wall thinking about what Bella was probably doing.

He wanted to go.

He wanted to see her but as he drove to airport he just couldn't go on.  
It was like it was hitting him what he had done.  
He felt horrible.

He felt ashamed.  
And he knew exactly what John would have said.  
He headed home and just sat there waiting for Marley to get back from work.

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Around 5:40, Emily decided it was time to go.

"Say: see you after Disney" she told Bella who smiled and hugged Penelope.

"Have fun in there my little munchkin" Penelope said hugging the girl tight.

They said their goodbye to everybody and Chloe and Gavin said goodbye to their moms. They had already packed everything and it was waiting for them in Emily's car. So there they went.

"Have fun! Don't forget to call" Hilary yelled as Chloe walked away with Emily, Bella and Gavin.

"Bye!" The kids yelled and waved.

They got in the car and buckled up.

"Are you guys ready?" Emily asked.

"Mom we have to pack" Bella said.

"No we don't" Emily smiled.

"Yes we do! " Bella said confused.

"It's all in the trunk. Calm down" Emily laughed and started driving to the airport.

"When did you-?" Bella said laughing and Emily laughed.

"I have super powers" Emily said and the kids laughed.

"Did you pack my .. Umm" Bella said.

"It's in your backpack" Emily smiled knowing Bella was talking about her blanket.

"Thanks" Bella said with a shy smiled. There was a moment of silence till Isabella said "guys, I can't believe we're all going to Disney World right now"

Emily had a big smile on her face. She was just so happy at how everything was going.

"Me neither" Chloe and Gavin said in unison and they all bursted into laugher.

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At the airport, everyone had a backpack filled with entertainment for the plane ride and also a suitcase. So they went in and checked their bags, got through security and sat at their gate waiting.

"Does anyone wants a drink?" Emily asked pointing to a Starbucks nearby.

"Can I get a mocha?" Bella asked.

"Coffee at 7 ? I think that's a no baby" Emily said.

"Hot Chocolate?" Bella said making a face.

"Okay" Emily said.

"Can I get that too?" Chloe asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled. "How about you Gavin?" She asked turning to the boy.

"Just water is fine" he said.

"Gav, who goes to Starbucks and orders water?" Isabella asked making everyone laugh.

"Don't be embarrassed" Chloe said knowing the boy probably was.

"A choco chip is fine" he said and Emily smiled and went to get it.

"I seriously cannot believe we are traveling together" Chloe said hugging Bella.

"And to Disney world" Gavin said hugging them both.

"I'm so happy" Bella smiled and they let go of the hug and laughed.

They checked their backpacks to see what their moms had packed and they couldn't be happier. Everyone had snacks, a notebook with some pens, their iPads, a book and a safety outfit in case something happened to their suitcases.

"They definitely planned this" Chloe said as they noticed they all had the same things.

Isabella smiled as she found her blanket folded at a pocket of her bag.

Suddenly Emily walked back with their drinks. They drank and soon enough went to the plane.

"Do you guys want to sit together?" Emily asked as they had 3 seats together and 1 away.

"Sure" Bella said as her friends stared at her waiting for a response.

"I'll be right here" Emily said taking a seat on the other side. The kids took their seats and got settled.

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In Seattle, Jeremy was sitting watching tv when Marley got home.  
"Jeremy?" She said walking in, hearing the tv on.  
"Hi" he said as she appeared at the door.  
"Why aren't you in DC?" She asked worried.  
"I couldn't go" he said.  
"What do you mean you couldn't go?" She asked standing in front of him.  
"I just couldn't" he said and started crying. He tried to hold it but as Marley sat next to him and hugged him he was unable to and just let it out.  
"I shouldn't have.." He said and just sobbed. "She'll never forgive me"  
"She will baby, she will" Marley said.

They stayed silent till he calm down.  
"I just think about dad now and .." He said unable to finish.  
"It's going to be alright" Marley said.  
"I don't even know how to even begin to apologize" he said honestly.  
"You just go there and do it" Marley said.  
He stared at her. All he could think was that there was no way Isabella would forgive him.  
"You should call Emily" Marley suggested handing her phone to him. He picked it up and called but it went to voice mail so he called JJ.  
"Hello?" JJ said intrigued not recognizing the number.  
"Jennifer, it's Jeremy" he said.  
"Oh hi" she said a bit confused.  
"Is Emily with you? I'm calling her but it's going straight to voice mail" he said.  
"No. She's not here" JJ said not sure if she should say they traveled.  
"When you see her or talk... Can you say I called? She invited me to go to the park today but I missed my flight" he said.  
"Oh" JJ said. "They went on a trip, I don't know when exactly I'll be seeing her"  
"On a trip? To where?" He asked.  
"I'm not sure. Jeremy I'm sorry but I don't want to get involved in this" JJ said. "You should try calling her later or tomorrow. But just don't call me" she said. She was mad at him. She really was. She saw how much pain Emily and Bella went through.  
"I'm sorry" he said and just hung up.  
"So?" Marley asked.  
"Jennifer said they went on trip somewhere" he said.  
"What? Where?" Marley asked confused.  
"She's not sure" he said. "I'll try again tomorrow" he said staying up and walking to the bathroom.

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The flight couldn't have gone any better. In just an hour and 55 minutes they were walking out of the airplane.

"All good?" Emily asked Bella.

"Yes" the girl said excited.

"Oh my god! I can't believe we're here" Chloe said and they all smiled. They headed out, got their bags and headed to rent a car.

.

"So let's go?" Emily said as the kids buckled up.

"What hotel are we staying?" Bella asked.

"It's a surprise" Emily smiled and started driving.

She drove for a while and suddenly Bella spotted the sign.

"Oh Look!" She said excited pointing to it.

"We're here" Emily said.

"Are we staying here?" Bella asked in disbelief. "Inside Disney?"

"Yes" Emily said with a big smiled.

"Oh my god! Emily you're the best! THE best!" Chloe said and Emily laughed.

She drove some more and soon was parking at "Art of Animation Resort".

"Mom, that's our hotel?" Bella said as tears filled her eyes.

"That's the one you wanted, right?" Emily smiled. Isabella saw on tv the opening of that hotel and she started saying that she wanted to stay in there someday. Of course Emily remembered it.

Bella nodded and hugged Emily. "Thank you" the little girl said.

"Your welcome baby" Emily smiled wiping a tears that was falling down the child's cheek. "So let go?" She said excited and they all got out and carried their things inside.

.

"Oh my goodness" Bella said as they entered the "Finding Nemo suit".

"Wow!" Gavin said.

"This is incredible" Chloe smiled.

"So I think I made the right choice with this one?" Emily said.

"The best" Bella smiled and hugged her mother.

"So... I assume you'll be sharing a bed with me" Emily told Bella who smiled and nodded yes. "Alright. So this leaves a couch bed and a table bed for you guys" Emily told Gavin and Chloe.

"I can get the couch" Gavin said.

"Okay then." Emily smiled. "Put your things somewhere 'cause we're going out"

"We're going out right now?" Bella asked.

"Yeah! We're in Florida, come on" Emily said taking her suitcase to her bed. She saw the Disney Magic bands and put it quickly in her purse. The kids did what they were told and then they headed out to the car. They all sat on the back and talked the entire drive about what they wanted to do at the parks. Emily drove for a while and then parked at a big parking lot.

"Where are we?" Bella asked stepping out of the car.

"You might need this" Emily said getting the box of magic bands out of her bag and handing it to Bella.

The kids' faces light up. Bella opened it and handed them out.

"Everybody ready?" Emily asked excited.

"Yeah" Bella said jumping really excited.

Emily grabbed her hand and they walked. They got on a ride and soon where in front of the entrance.

"Where are we?" Bella asked again unsure. None of them had been there so they didn't know.

"Let's go in and take look" Emily said and they went it.

They walked a little and as they turned the corner Emily just stared at Isabella's face to see her reaction.

And it was priceless.

The little girl's eyes widened as the spotted the castle way down Main Street. Her smile got big and suddenly she jumped and hugged Emily who lifted her up.

"Happy birthday" Emily said smiling as tears filled her eyes.

"Thank you" Bella said smiling.

Emily put her down and said "we're having dinner right there" she pointed at the castle.

"At the castle?" Chloe asked.

"Yes" Emily smiled big and the three kids hugged her at the same time. She laughed and they walked to the castle. Emily couldn't help but smile as the kids eyes sparkled and their smiles seemed to get bigger and bigger by the minute.

"Let's go in here" Emily said entering a shop. Bella and Chloe were holding her hand and Gavin was holding Bella's. The place was super crowded.

"Are we getting hats?" Bella asked excited.

"Yeah. Each of you go pick one" Emily smiled and the kids started trying hats on.

"I want this one" Bella said after a while holding a classic Mickey Mouse ears hat.

"The regular one?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yeah. I like it" Bella smiled.

"Yeah me too" Gavin said grabbing one.

"Okay so we'll match" Chloe said grabbing another.

"Are you guys sure?" Emily smiled.

"Yes" the three kids said and they went to pay. The cashier suggested putting the kids name on it and they went to do that. Bella smiled as the lady handed the hat back with a blue "Bella" written on the back. Chloe got a pink one and Gavin a red one. They paid and headed to the castle.

The dinner couldn't have gone better. They ate and in the middle of it some princesses and other characters showed up and Emily couldn't help but smiled big at the kids' faces. They were all so excited to be there. They took a bunch of pictures and then Mickey Mouse showed up with a cupcake and everybody sang happy birthday to Bella. The girl was all smiles. She couldn't be happier.

After dinner they headed outside.

"Did you have a good birthday by far?" Emily asked the girl.

"Yes" Bella smiled and Emily smiled back.

"Are we going on the rides miss Emily?" Gavin asked.

"We'll go tomorrow ok?" Emily said looking at her watch.

"Why is everyone gathering?" Chloe asked and suddenly Bella remembered.

"Are we watching the fireworks?" She asked surprise.

"What better way to end this awesome birthday?!" Emily smiled and Bella hugged her.

"thank you!" Bella said. They walked to the corner of Main Street and waited for the show.

Bella wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and stared at the castle.

"Jump" Emily said and picked the girl up. Isabella touched the right side of her face on her mother's left side and both women just stared at the castle.

"Do you think dad can see us?" Bella asked staring at the sky.

"maybe" Emily said.

"He would have liked this" Bella said. She looked serious but didn't have one tear in her eyes.

"He would" Emily said.

It was a beautiful moment, they were both lost in space just staring at the castle.

"I love you mom" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily said kissing the girl's cheek and suddenly the music started.

"Look!" Bella said excited pointing to the top of the castle. The child's eyes were sparkling. She was happy. She was so so so happy. She wished her father was there with her too but she was in the arms of her favorite person in the world, her mother. And she knew that her family was waiting for her back in DC. She knew that her two friends standing next to her would be there for her no matter what. Those people were all she had now and all she wanted. She couldn't hold the tears anymore.

Emily noticed the girl was crying and her eyes immediately filled too. "Are you alright?" She asked the girl.

Bella nodded. "You're the best mom in the world" the little girl said and wrapped her arms around Emily's neck completely ignoring the fireworks happening in front of her.

"I love you Bells" Emily said.

"I love you too" Bella said.

"Hey. Don't cry baby. Watch the fireworks. Look" Emily said and Bella looked at the castle again.

It was just a beautiful show.

And a beautiful day.

Once the show ended Emily put Bella down and the girl hugged Chloe.

"I love you B" Chloe said and Gavin hugged both of them.

"Let's go now?" Emily asked sorry to interrupt them but it was late and they had a big day tomorrow. The kids stopped hugging and smiled. Bella and Chloe took Emily's hand and the four of them happily went back to the car.

"I can't believe this happened" Chloe said buckling up and everyone smiled.

Emily started driving and it wasn't long till the kids fell asleep. She smiled as she parked the car in the hotel and noticed only Gavin was awake.

"Thank you for bringing us" he told Emily.

"Are you having fun?" Emily asked him.

"Yes" he said nodding and she smiled.

They woke the girls up and headed to their suit. Emily helped with the couch and the table bed and then headed to her bed. She found Bella fast asleep sideways on the bed still wearing shoes and her hat. She took the girl's boots and the hat out and ran her hand on the child's back.

"Hey, get under the covers" she said as Isabella woke up. Emily helped the girl lie down properly and covered her up and placed a kiss on the child's forehead. "Goodnight monkey" Emily said.

"Night" Bella whispered and drifted back to sleep.

Emily checked the other kids and they were out too. She showered quickly and headed to bed. She was just so happy. Isabella's birthday couldn't have gone any better.

She was just worried about Jeremy not being there. She hadn't even heard from him. There were no voice mails. Not even a text.


	54. Chapter 54: Disney World Trip

**(Sunday)**

Isabella woke up at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. She was just so excited. She moved around on the bed and then heard the noise of the minibar opening. She walked out to find Chloe drinking water by the minibar.

"Hey" Bella whispered and Chloe jumped scared.

"Oh it's you" Chloe said and Bella laughed.

"What are you doing awake?" Bella asked still whispering.

"I woke up and then couldn't sleep" Chloe said. "I'm just too excited." She said making an excited face.

"Me too" Bella said letting out a little laugh. She sat on the bed next to Chloe and Chloe got her ipad.

"Look I found this map and I was looking at some rides. Is there one you really want to go?" Chloe asked handing the ipad to Bella.

"I wanna try space mountain" Bella said. "Do you think it's too scary?" She asked Chloe a little unsure if she wanted to go on a roller coaster.

"I think it's cool. Here it says it's not a high level one." Chloe said showing Bella on the app the levels of the attractions.

"Yeah. Maybe we can try that one" Bella said smiling excited.

"I wanna go on Splash Mountain so bad" Chloe said excited. The two friends laid on the bed next to each other and read about the attractions of the park and kept looking at the time. They just wanted to go.

Around 7:30 Bella couldn't wait any longer.

"Mom?" She said standing on the side of the bed where Emily was sleeping. Emily didn't even move.

"Wake up." She said again and nothing.

"Mommy! Wake up! Let's go to disney! Wake up!" She said jumping on her mother as the woman's eyes shot open.

She wrapped Bella in a hug. "Good morning" she said sounding sleepy.

"Come on let's go!" Bella begged getting out of the bed.

"Wait I just woke up baby" Emily said making a face.

"Come on" Bella begged grabbing Emily's hand who just smiled, got up and lifted the girl up in her arms.

"Good morning" Emily told Chloe and Gavin who had just been woken up by his friend.

"Mickey waffles and orange juice for everybody?" Emily asked and the kids said yeah in unison. She ordered breakfast while the kids went to get ready. Bella showered first and got out of the bathroom using a robe.

"Uhhhh fancy" Emily laughed.

Gavin went to shower while Chloe was still showering in the other bathroom.

Bella opened her suitcase and smiled a shirt she had not seen before. "Is this brand-new?" She asked.

"yup" Emily smiled.

"Sometimes you spoil me too much" Bella said.

Emily's jaw fell and she said "are you complaining?"

"No. Not all" Bella said. "It's just you didn't have to buy me anything else"

"You are too good, you know?" Emily said walking to the girl. She sat next to Bella on the floor and kissed her forehead. Bella hugged her. "That's why you deserve it all" Emily said with a smile.

Bella smiled back and took jeans shorts out of the bag.

"It's cute, right?" Emily said taking a purple Frozen shirt with Elsa shorting snowflakes out of her hand on the front.

"Perfect" Bella said grabbing it from Emily's hand. She closed the door and put her clothes on.

"These shoes?" Holding a brand-new pair of sparkly pink doc martins. The girl smiled and nodded yes.

"You're crazy mom" Bella said.

"These were actually a gift from JJ." Emily said handing the shoes and socks to Bella. She put them on and went to brush her hair in the other room. She let her hair down and got her Mickey ears hat and put it on.

"How do I look?" She asked Emily entering the room again.

Emily smiled big as she saw a big happy smile on Isabella's face. "Amazing" she said and hugged the girl.

Suddenly the bell rang.

"The food is here!" Bella said excited running to the door and Emily ran after her. She opened it and the guy took the food inside. Emily put the table bed away and sat the things on the table. Gavin got out of the bathroom wearing a goofy shirt and Chloe had a Minnie Mouse shirt on. Emily put on her blue jeans, black sneakers and a light blue blouse.

"No Disney for you?" Chloe asked looking at everyone's shirt.

Emily smiled and said "you guys can help me find something today"

They girls smiled.

"Let's have breakfast?" Gavin said and they headed to the table. They ate and then Emily told them to get their things. Chloe and Gavin put their hats on while Emily got her bag and they headed out.

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The day couldn't have gone better. The kids had big smiles as they walked back inside the park. They went on some rides and Emily was amazed at how happy her daughter was. Bella insisted on going on Space Mountain so they went to the line.

"This is taking forever" Bella said after being there for a while.

"Oh come on. It's gonna be fun!" Gavin said.

They waited a while longer and then their turn came. Emily smiled big as she heard Bella and Chloe screaming and laughing the entire ride.

"So did you guys like it?" Emily asked.

"Yeah!" Bella said laughing.

"But it was intense" Chloe said and they all laughed.

"So how about that one?" Emily asked pointing to another ride. The kids nodded yes and ran there.

They went on a bunch of rides. Around 2 they stopped to eat hamburgers close to Splash Mountain which was the ride that Chloe wanted to go the most. They ate and then headed there. They came out soaking wet.

"You guys, look what you did to me" Emily said and the kids laughed at how wet she was.

They went to a shop and Emily got a new purple shirt with a Mickey Mouse and 'Walt Disney World' on it.

"We're matching" Bella said laughing as she noticed they had the same exact purple on their shirt. Emily smiled and went to pay.

The afternoon went great. They did some rides and then took pictures with some characters.

"Are we watching the fireworks again tonight?" Bella asked as she noticed the sunset.

"If you guys want to" Emily said.

"Yes!" The three kids said in unison and Emily smiled. "Okay then" she said.

They went on a few more rides and then sat down on the same spot they were the night before, left corner of Main Street. They waited for the firework show eating churros. Again the show was super magical. Isabella watched right next to Chloe and Gavin as Emily stood behind them. Once it was over they stopped at some shops at the Main Street. Emily let all three kids pick out something below 20 dollars. Gavin got a Mickey and Friends Rubik's cube, Chloe got a Stitch plush pillow and Bella decided on a Duffy bear plush.

They ate a hotdog at another shop.

"Let's go to the hotel now?" Emily asked when everyone finished eating.

The kids said yes, all looked and sounded sleepy. Emily laughed and said "let's go then"

They headed out and as they were walking out Bella took Emily's hand and said "thank you for bringing me here". Emily smiled, stopped walking and wrapped Bella in a hug. "I'm glad you had fun" she said.

"The most I've ever had" Bella smiled letting go of the hug.

"Yeah. Thank you so much Emily." Chloe said and Emily gave her a hug.

"We should go out more often" Bella said and they all laughed and headed to the car.

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Emily drove back to the hotel and was not surprised when she saw that all the three kids were asleep in the backseat. She walked out and headed to Chloe's door since Gavin was resting his head on his.

"Hey." She said. "Guys." Emily sang. "We're here" she said and Gavin and Chloe opened their eyes, Bella stayed asleep between them.

"Let's go inside" Emily said and Chloe got out carrying her things.

"Bella" Gavin said. "We're home" he said and Emily laughed.

"Already calling it home" Chloe said laughing and Gavin laughed too.

"Bellie. Come on wake up" Emily said sitting next to the girl and pushing some hair off her face. Isabella opened her eyes.

"Hi. Let's go in?" Emily smiled and the child unbuckled her seatbelt. Emily carried Isabella's things and held her hand as they walked to the suit; the girl was almost asleep on her feet. When they got to the room all the kids threw themselves on Gavin's bed since it was the closest to the door. Emily laughed, put Isabella's things on the floor of the room and got Chloe's bed ready. She stared at the kids and felt bad for having to wake them up again so she picked Chloe up and carried her to bed.

"Oh you're heavy" Emily whispered as she put the girl down on the bed. Isabella was way smaller and skinnier than the girl even though they were the same age.

She walked to Gavin's bed again and picked Isabella up. "How can you be this light?" She said carrying Bella to bed. She put the girl down and Bella woke up.

"Bear" Bella mumbled.

"What?" Emily asked not sure of what the child had said.

"Bear. I want my bear" Bella said and Emily smiled and went to get the bear.

"Here. Hug Duffy" she said placing the bear next to the girl who snuggled it up close to her face.

Emily laid in bed next to Isabella who was back asleep. She just stared at her daughter for a moment, letting it sink in the amazing day they had.

Suddenly Bella opened her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked worried. Bella moved closer to her still hugging Duffy.

"I love you" the little girl said.

"I love you too baby" Emily said running her fingers through the girl's hair.

It wasn't long till both were fast asleep.

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 **(Monday)**

Emily woke up at it was 8. She woke everyone up and they were all excited about the day.

"Where are we going today?" Bella asked sitting to eat breakfast.

"Either Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom, you guys pick" Emily said.

The three kids looked at each other.

"Okay, look." Emily said and the kids payed attention. "I'll count to three and you guys say your choice"

"Okay" Chloe said.

So Emily said "1...2...3"

"Hollywoo-" all three kids said in unison and bursted into laughter.

"Alright we have a winner" Emily said and laughed. They ate breakfast and headed out.

The day was filled with fun and laughter. Emily just loved hearing the kids giggle and smile excited about things.

At night they agreed on going to Downtown Disney to have dinner. Emily took them to the T-Rex restaurant and they couldn't believe how cool the place was. They ate, walked around and then headed to the hotel. They were just exhausted.

"You have a package Miss Prentiss" A guy said at the hotel lobby.

"Go up and get ready for bed guys" Emily told the kids handing the hotel key to Isabella. Emily walked there and signed the things while the kids went up.

When she got to the room she knocked and Chloe opened it. She went to bed and sat there to open the package. She smiled as she saw everything was right there. She hid it on a drawer right before Bella walked out of the bathroom already in pajamas. Chloe showered while Emily got the girl's bed ready. Then Emily showered. She walked out to find Bella passed out on the bed hugging Duffy. She went to check on the kids and they were sleeping too so she headed to bed. She got her phone and sent some pictures to Hilary and Colette and of course Penelope who had been texting her and Bella all the time.

She smiled as she stared at a picture she had taken of Bella with Mickey Mouse. The girl had such a look on her face; it was like she couldn't believe it was happening.

She sent that picture to Morgan and also 'you have the best ideas'.

She put her phone in the nightstand and closed her eyes so she could get some sleep. But suddenly she opened them and grabbed the phone. She found that picture and this time sent to Jeremy with 'it's for her to have days like this that we should fight for.'

She turned her phone off and hugged Bella.

It wasn't long till she fell asleep.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Emily woke up at 7:30 and heard the tv on in the other room, she walked to find Chloe and Gavin watching cartoons.

"Good morning guys" she said.

"Good morning" Chloe smiled as Emily walked to give her a hug.

"Where are we going today miss Emily?" Gavin asked.

"Just Emily is fine Gavin" Emily smiled. "And... It will be a surprise" she said.

"I'm gonna shower" Chloe said.

"Wait! Let me get Bella first" Emily said and Chloe and Gavin just sat there confused. She woke Bella up and carried her to Gavin's bed where they were watching tv. She headed back, got the box from the drawer and walked to the kids.

"So... To go to place we're going today I think you guys might need this" she said opening the box. She handed out three ties.

"This looks like Potter's" Gavin laughed.

"Is it?" Bella asked surprised as she realized it was exactly like Harry's.

"Guess where we're going today" Emily said smiling.

"Harry potter park?" Chloe asked hopeful.

"Yes" Emily smiled.

"Oh my god!" Bella said standing up on the bed and walking to hug Emily who picked her up.

"Are you guys excited?" Emily asked smiling.

"Yeah" the kids said in unison.

"Alright. So let's get ready and then let's pack cause we leave tonight" she said putting Bella down.

"No" Bella said making a sad face.

"You guys have school tomorrow" Emily smiled noticing they all made a sad face.

"We might come back some other time, who knows" she said and they all smiled and went to get ready.

They packed, ate breakfast and headed out the door.

The last day couldn't have gone better, the kids had so much fun at the park and Emily couldn't help but smile as she watched Isabella's eyes shine with everything thing she was seeing. The girl cried a little when she spotted Hogwarts and Emily got chocked up.

They went on a bunch of rides and got some crazy jelly beans and chocolate to take home.

"Regular or frozen?" Gavin asked as Bella and Chloe just stared at people trying butterbeer.

"Frozen" Bella said. Gavin ordered 4 and Emily paid. They took it to the girls and they tried and absolutely loved it. Emily laughed as she noticed all three kids had a mustache now.

"I need to take a picture guys. Wait!" She said getting her phone. "Smile" she said and they gave her a big smile just happy to be there.

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They were at a store when Bella grabbed a white owl and said "mom, can you buy this for Henry?"

"For Henry or for you?" Emily laughed.

"For Henry" Bella smiled.

"Alright. Pick one Jack too" Emily said and the girl got a different owl for Jack. They paid and went to have dinner. Then they headed out to the hotel.

"So was it a good trip?" Emily asked as she drove back to the hotel.

"The best trip" Bella said smiling.

They got to the hotel, grabbed their bags and headed to the airport. The flight left Orlando at 7:30 and it went by super fast. This time they had two seats on each side so Bella insisted on sitting with Emily. While Gavin and Chloe talked about the trip and played games, Isabella rested her head on her mother's arm, hugged her new bear, Duffy, and was fast asleep the entire flight.

"Hey, let's go" Emily said waking he girl up. They headed out and went to Emily's car.

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"See you tomorrow Gav" Chloe said as Gavin unbuckled.

"Hi!" Colette said running to the car. "How was the trip?" She asked excited hugging Gavin.

"It was awesome" he said.

"Did he behave?" Colette asked Emily who nodded yes smiling.

"Bye guys" Gavin said.

"Bye" Bella and Chloe said in unison and waved.

Emily drove to her building and stopped at Hilary's apartment to drop Chloe. They went in and talked about the trip for a while but Emily noticed Isabella was very sleepy so she decided to go home. They said their goodbyes and headed up. They walked inside and dropped the bags on the living room. Emily saw Bella was almost asleep on her feet. "Come here" Emily smiled and picked the girl up and headed upstairs.

"Can I sleep on your bed?" Bella asked as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Sure" Emily said with a smile.

She placed Bella on her bed and helped the girl take her shoes off.

"Take this tie off baby" Emily said not wanting the girl to get hurt on her sleep. She helped Bella take it off and tucked her in.

"Do you know what I noticed?" Emily said softly pushing some hair off Isabella's face.

"What?" The girl said hugging Duffy.

"You didn't even take your blanket out of the bag" Emily said proudly and Bella gave her a small smile.

"I didn't need it" the child said sitting on the bed and hugging Emily who pulled the girl to her lap.

"Did you have a good time in there?" Emily asked softly hugging the girl.

"Yes" Bella said letting go. "I love you mommy" she said looking straight at Emily's eyes.

"I love you too monkey" Emily said and wrapped the girl in a hug again and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Goodnight" Bella said taking her spot again and laying down.

"Goodnight" Emily said. "I'll be right back" she added covering the girl again. She walked out and went to the kitchen then she sat in the living room with a glass of wine and went through all the pictures from the trip on her phone. She couldn't help but smile the whole time.

Suddenly she got a text from Jeremy.

'Hi. I tried calling you on Saturday but it went straight to voice mail. I talked to Jennifer and she said you took Bella on a trip so I decided to wait and call later but I just didn't. I don't really know why. Well, I drove to the airport to go to the birthday party but I just couldn't go in. I just couldn't stop thinking about dad and what i did. And just... I'm really sorry. Anyways, I've been thinking about everything that has happened in the last few months and I'm really sorry for the hurt I put you through. Both of you. I know now I shouldn't have done that but I was scared. The decision you and dad made when she was born was for a reason and all I could think about was when you and dad explained to me why you were leaving her with him. I got scared back then and I've always been scared something would happen to her. And then dad died and suddenly she was with you. It just didn't make sense. It still sort of doesn't. But I know that he would want her to stay with you. So I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt her. I just wanted to keep her safe.'

Emily stared at her phone once she was done reading, she couldn't think of what to tell him.

'Okay' Emily sent after a while and turned her phone off. She put the wine glass on the side table and laid on the couch.

She started thinking about the beginning of it all and all the choices she and John had made. Choices that changed their entire lives.

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* * *

 ***** 11 years ago…**

It was December 22. The snow was falling. Emily had landed in New York City an hour before she walked down Times Square on her way to dinner. Being in that big city by herself always gave her peace.

She was walking down and staring at all the lights and Christmas decorations when suddenly a hand touched her left arm. She turned around scared.

"Emily?" A handsome man with very dark hair, pale skin and blue eyes asked.

"John?" She asked realizing who it was.

"Oh my God! It's been so long" she said and they hugged.

"What are you doing in the city I thought you were back in Europe?" He asked her as they walked close to a shop to get away from the people. Luckily the place wasn't so crowded that night.

"Oh I am. I just took some time off and decided New York was a great place to come" she said. "What about you? Why are you here? I mean… you were never a fan of New York" she said and they laughed.

It was true. John liked small towns way better.

"I'm opening a practice here" he told her.

"Oh that's amazing" she said.

"Yeah. With Shepherd and Mark" he said.

"Really?" She asked surprised and he laughed.

"Yeah I know." He said. "They are great doctors and Derek's wife is in too so i won't be alone dealing with those two" he said making a face.

"That's great. I'm really happy for you" she smiled. "Really. You always wanted that"

"Yeah." He agreed.

"And how's Jeremy?" She asked him. Jeremy was his son.

"Oh he's great. Has been talking about med school and everything" John said.

"It's in the blood" Emily joked.

"Apparently it is" he laughed and checked his watch. Both his father and grandfather were doctors.

"Well, we are actually having dinner tonight to celebrate the deal on the office so you are more than welcome to join" John said.

"Oh no. It's alright" Emily said a bit embarrassed. She hadn't seen them in a long time.

"Are you alone here or ..?" He asked not really wanting to ask if she had a date.

"I'm alone" Emily admitted.

"Alright. So I won't take a no. You're coming with me" John said and threw his arm over her shoulder and they walked to the restaurant.

...

* * *

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 ****** YAY! Flashbacks!**

 **So guys, some people have been asking for flashback for a while now and I finally found a good spot to put them in. I wrote it a while ago and I reeeeeally like it! So I hope you guys will like it too AND I'll go on with that for a couple chapters =) So please let me know what you think of that?! I just think it will be cool to see how everything happened.**

 **Xo-b**


	55. Chapter 55: Are You Pregnant?

***** 11 years ago…**

It was December 22.

The snow was falling.

Emily had landed in New York City an hour before she walked down Times Square on her way to dinner. Being in that big city by herself always gave her peace.

She was walking down and staring at all the lights and Christmas decorations when suddenly a hand touched her left arm. She turned around scared.

"Emily?" A handsome man with very dark hair, pale skin and blue eyes asked.

"John?" She asked realizing who it was.

"Oh my God! It's been so long" she said and they hugged.

"What are you doing in the city I thought you were back in Europe?" He asked her as they walked close to a shop to get away from the people. Luckily the place wasn't so crowded that night.

"Oh I am. I just took some time off and decided New York was a great place to come" she said. "What about you? Why are you here? I mean… you were never a fan of New York" she said and they laughed.

It was true. John liked small towns way better.

"I'm opening a practice here" he told her.

"Oh that's amazing" she said.

"Yeah. With Shepherd and Mark" he said.

"Really?" She asked surprised and he laughed.

"Yeah I know." He said. "They are great doctors and Derek's wife is in too so i won't be alone dealing with those two" he said making a face.

"That's great. I'm really happy for you" she smiled. "Really. You always wanted that"

"Yeah." He agreed.

"And how's Jeremy?" She asked him. Jeremy was his son.

"Oh he's great. Has been talking about med school and everything" John said.

"It's in the blood" Emily joked.

"Apparently it is" he laughed and checked his watch. Both his father and grandfather were doctors.

"Well, we are actually having dinner tonight to celebrate the deal on the office so you are more than welcome to join" John said.

"Oh no. It's alright" Emily said a bit embarrassed. She hadn't seen them in a long time.

"Are you alone here or ..?" He asked not really wanting to ask if she had a date.

"I'm alone" Emily admitted.

"Alright. So I won't take a no. You're coming with me" John said and threw his arm over her shoulder and they walked to the restaurant.

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As they entered the restaurant Emily smiled embarrassedly as she spotted the table where Derek, Mark and Addison were sitting. Derek smiled at her and the others soon followed spotting the woman walking in with John.

"Oh My God. Emily!" Addison said standing up and hugging the woman who just hugged back really embarrassed.

She greeted everyone and they sat.

"So what are you doing in the city?" Shepherd asked. "Weren't you working in Europe or something?"

"Yeah yeah. I took some time off" Emily answered. "Oh and I just heard about the practice. Congratulations"

"Thanks. I just hope I won't regret this" Shepherd joked looking at Mark.

"Oh come on man. I know what's work and what's not, alright" he said and everyone was smiling.

"It's good to see you Em" Derek said and Emily smiled shyly.

The dinner went on great. Addison invited Emily to stop by the practice the next day to see how things were going and of course Emily said yes. She had not seen any of them in about 8 months. So though a bit embarrassed she was happy and excited to see her old friends.

After the dinner John and Emily shared a cab. He got out first and asked if she wanted to stay over at his place like they used to but she insisted on going to the hotel. Both of them had been very good friends for years and it had never been more than that. They could share a room just fine without anything sexual happening, so it was just because she was already paying the hotel and she could use some time alone which had been the reason why she took the time off in the first place.

So he went up to his apartment and she went to the hotel.

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The next day Emily woke up excited to meet her friends again. They had agreed on meeting at the practice at 7 and then they would go out to another dinner.

Emily spent the day relaxing at the hotel. She watched movies and tv shows and got room service. It was just a day to relax. Around 6 she started to get ready and once done she was off. She took a cab to the practice. When she got there everyone was working on something. Addison gave her a tour and then they just hung out and worked on some decor for the place. Even Emily helped.

Around 9, they were all done so they sat in the small kitchen and popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate. They drank and talked a bit and then decided to go to a bar nearby. They walked there and it went on great and they obviously drank some more. They were having so much fun just talking and laughing their heads off.

It was almost midnight when they decided to head home. Everyone looked too drunk to drive so they went on taxis. Addie, Derek and Mark shared and John and Emily shared the other one since his house was close to her hotel.

.

"So do you want to come up tonight?" John asked Emily as the taxi pulled over in front of his building.

"No. It's alright John." Emily said definitely sounding drunk.

"Come one. Let's just watch a movie. You can have the guest room" John said. "You said you wanted to see the place remember?" He told her to remind her what she had said at Addison's wedding when he told Emily he had moved.

"Alright you dumbass" Emily said.

"You're drunk" he said.

"merci pour une lapalissade" (thank you for stating the obvious) Emily said making a face at him.

"So drunk" he said and took her hand. They walked to the building.

.

John opened the door and they walked in. Emily put her bag in the kitchen island and John went to the refrigerator for some water.

Out of nowhere Emily hugged him.

"I miss you" she said.

"I miss you too" he said hugging her tighter.

They both let go at the same time and as they were letting go John's eyes stared at Emily's. Before they could even think they were kissing. John pushed Emily into the kitchen island and she slightly laid her back there as they kept kissing.

"Couch" she said as her back hurt. They ran to the couch giggling like two teenagers. They made out and things were getting intense. Emily took her shirt off and John stared at her breasts.

"Hey" she said giggling and as he stared at her eyes and she ripped his shirt.

One thing led to the other and it wasn't long till all their clothes were on the ground. Emily let an "Au" scape and John looked worried but that was shortly followed by pleasure sounds. Both of them were having the greatest time. A little after John had come, he went again and made her too. She felt good as all her body shook. They kissed each other and hugged each other as if they were wondering why it took them so long to be together.

The truth was that it was all the alcohol. They never loved each other like lovers. It was always just friends.

They just laid on the couch together covered with a blanket that was on the couch and shortly after both fell asleep.

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it was 8:36 when Emily's eyes opened the next day. It took a while for her to realize what they had done because her head felt like it was about to explode and at the moment she realized what had happened she panic.

She couldn't have, she just couldn't. She kept telling herself.

She got up and started grabbing her things and putting them on.

"No. No. No. No" she kept telling herself.

As she put the last item of clothing on John woke up.

"Oh my god" he said in shock.

"What exactly happened here?" Emily asked mad at him.

"I think we .. Ummn" John said unable to make the words.

"We did. We definitely did" Emily said and John just stood up.

"Oh lord put your pants on" Emily said throwing his pants at him and he laughed.

"John. This isn't funny." She said serious.

"I'm sorry" he said. "I'm really sorry Em. I don't know what happened" John said feeling bad.

"Yeah. I should have never come up here" she said sounding upset. She knew things probably wouldn't be like it was before between them after having sex.

"Em don't" he said as she started walking towards the door.

"I have to go back." She said.

"Stay. This is fine. We're fine" he said.

"I don't think this is fine John. I'm sorry I don't… " she said mad.

"I'm sor-" he started.

"I have to go" she cut him off, grabbed her purse and walked out of the apartment.

Instead of going after her he just stood there thinking about what had just happened.

Emily cried the entire walk to her hotel. She couldn't believe she had let that happen. He was her best friend. She couldn't have let something like this ruin what they had. She knew once they had sex it was over.

She got to her hotel room and packed her things. She checked out and took a cab to the airport.

She got tickets to the next flight to London, which would leave in 40 minutes.

She hurried to check in and do all the things so she wouldn't miss the flight. Luckily she made it. The entire ride she was heartbroken for letting that happen and for running away but she just couldn't face him. Neither could she face Derek, Addison and Mark after that.

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The day after it happened she got a couple of calls from Shepherd but she didn't answer. The next day Addison called and she answered.

"Hello?" Addison said as she noticed Emily had answered the phone.

"Hi" Emily said not sounding excited at all.

"Are you okay? John said you went to London last minute. What about Christmas?" Addison asked. At the bar they had invited Emily to spend Christmas with them.

"I'm sorry but something came up a work and I won't be able to go. You know what is like" Emily said.

"Sure. Interpol is hard" Addison said.

"Yeah" Emily said. She couldn't believe John hadn't told them.

"Well, try to come for a visit soon." Addison said. "You're always welcome here"

"Thank you… " Emily said. "I gotta go. Work you know" Emily said not wanting Addison to sense something was off with her.

"Alright. Bye. Take care" Addison said.

"You too" Emily said. "Bye"

"Bye"

And they hung up. Emily couldn't believe John had not mentioned anything. She thought about calling him but she couldn't. So she just went on with her life and tried forgetting it even happened.

Emily spent Christmas alone at her apartment in London and spent New Year's Eve with two friends at a bar downtown.

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Almost 3 weeks after she left New York, she was at the Interpol office in Paris, when she felt really sick as she walked out of the building. She knew she would throw up so she walked to a trash can and just like that she emptied her stomach. That sickness had been going for a couple days till she finally decided to get it checked out.

The doctor ordered a blood test and she waited for the results in his office. She was nervous it was something serious because she was never ever sick.

"Well, I have good news Miss Prentiss" the doctor said and she felt relieved.

"You'll need to be transferred to an OBGYN because your test came back positive. You are pregnant." He said with a smile.

"What?" Emily asked as her eyes widened with surprise and fear. "No sir. This must be a mistake. I can't be pregnant. I'm on the pill and I've never not used a condom. This must be a mistake there" she said way faster and angrier than she meant.

"The OBGYN is coming for an ultrasound to confirm for you. But this is almost 100% certain" the doctor said.

Emily didn't say anything this time. She could feel her heart beating so fast. Her head started to pound and she started feeling sick again.

"There's a bathroom just outside" the doctor said noticing she was feeling sick. She ran out of the office and in to the bathroom.

Once she was done the OBGYN was waiting for her at the door of the office.

"You must be Emily Prentiss?" Doctor Sally Richards asked and Emily nodded.

"Please come in" the doctor said and Emily did as told. She laid on the exam bed and the doctor started the ultrasound. Emily was really nervous. She kept telling herself that there was no way she was pregnant and it suddenly hit her. She couldn't remember if John was using a condom or not. She felt as her eyes started filling with water as it hit her. She fought it hard and managed not to let a single tear scape.

"Here it is" Dr. Sally Richards said. "This tiny thing right here" she said pointing to it on the screen. "This is your baby"

Emily's heart was going insane. She couldn't believe that was happening.

"How far? How far long am I?" Emily asked still in shock.

"Seems like around 3 to 4 weeks" Dr Sally said. "Due date should be around ... Umm… October 1st"

"Are you sure of that?" Emily asked still in disbelief.

"100%" the doctor said.

"Okay" was the only thing Emily could say.

"Well, you'll need prenatal care and if you don't want to do it here I can send your file to any hospital or practice of your choosing"

"Okay" Emily said. The doctor could see she was in shock.

"Look. Being pregnant is scary but believe me it's a wonderful thing" the doctor said and Emily gave her a little fake smile. How could she tell her that? Emily didn't want kids. She couldn't have kids. Not now. Not with her job.

Emily finished everything she had to do at the hospital and drove back to her hotel. As soon as she entered the room the water gates opened and she couldn't stop crying. She couldn't control herself anymore. She just sat on the floor and cried.

How was she supposed to tell John? How was she supposed to take care of a child? How?

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The next day Emily was woken up by her phone.

"hello?" Emily answered sleepy.

"It's me. He's in town. Don't go out. I'm coming over" Sia told her.

"Okay" Emily said and hung up. Sia was talking about a case they started working on about 5 months earlier. A drug trafficking case in which Emily had gone undercover and impressively managed to get the "boss's" trust. The thing was that that man was there in Paris but for him Emily was in Australia for her "translator" work.

Sia stayed the entire night at the hotel with Emily and after about 30 minutes of being there she knew something was wrong. She insisted and Emily finally admitted.

"I'm pregnant" she said refusing to look at her friend.

"What? Pregnant? But.. How? When? Who?" Sia asked in complete shock.

"I didn't tell you but when I was in New York I met a couple of old friends and one night we got drunk and things happened and now…" she said.

"what are you gonna do?" Sia asked. "Are you keeping it?" She said looking at Emily's stomach.

"I don't know" Emily said.

"Em. you can't work like this" Sia said.

"What? It doesn't even show. I'm just three weeks." Emily said.

"If anyone finds out, you and this child are dead. You know damn well" Sia said and Emily just nodded.

"You have to tell Calen" Sia said. Calen was their boss. "I'm not letting you work if he doesn't know."

"Fine" Emily said between her teeth. She knew she had to. She just didn't want to.

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Two day after talking to Sia, Emily walked in the hotel restaurant, which was impressively not crowed at all, for a meeting with her boss.

The moment she told him he got really mad.

"Are you out of your mind agent? How did you let this happen?" He said and she just stared not knowing what to say. "You have too many connections you can't just drop off now. They'll know. All of them. You'll blow everything up…. Fuck" he said angry and she just sat there.

"You have to end it" he said and Emily's eyes widened.

"What?" She said. "Excuse me sir but-"

"You don't know what they'll do to you and this child if you keep it. And believe me it will not be pretty agent" he cut her off. "The moment you walked into the cases you did you knew damn well" he said.

"It was an accident sir but I can't just.." She said unable to end it. She wouldn't have an abortion again. She couldn't forgive herself for it. When she was a teenager she could offer nothing to the child but now it was different. The baby had a father and Emily knew he was a good one to his son, she knew what he was capable off and she couldn't just not give the child a chance.

"You know how this is for these people Emily. They won't care." Calen said. "And you can't drop out now" he said serious. "I'm sorry" he said as if having an abortion was his orders and his choice.

"Excuse me sir I need some time" Emily said standing up.

"If you wait too long it will-" he said and Emily interrupted.

"I need time" she said and left.

She walked to her hotel room and she didn't even realize she was crying until she got inside. She sat on the bed and took her face on her hands as a sob came out. She cried and cried. She couldn't have an abortion. She just couldn't.

She grabbed her phone and called John.

"Hello?" He said and she just sat there not saying a word. "Emily?" He said and nothing.

Suddenly she hung up.

She laid on the bed and just cried.

How was she supposed to tell him? How was she supposed to say what could happen to his baby if she decided to keep it?

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2 weeks had passed since Emily found out about the baby. Her boss had said she needed some time away from the field since it was too risk if anyone found out.

She spent her days inside the hotel room. She hadn't even called John or answered to any of Addison's calls, when she decided she had to tell him.

She was almost 6 weeks pregnant and she knew that no matter what John said she would not have an abortion.

She got on a plane to New York City and just hoped things would go smooth.

.

As soon as she got to the city she went to the Palace Hotel to leave her things there and then she headed to the Practice.

The taxi ride over there was nerve racking. She picture his reaction a million times in a million different ways but nothing was preparing her for what was about to happen.

Emily walked in the practice and froze as she saw Addison approaching.

"Hi. You're back" Addison said hugging her and smiling.

"Umm is John here?" Emily asked trying to sound normal and not like she was about to drop a bomb.

"Yeah. He's in his office. You can go in. He's not seeing anyone" Addison said.

"Okay" Emily said already starting to move.

"Em, are you okay?" Addison asked definitely able to tell something was wrong.

"Yeah. I just really need to talk to him" Emily said serious and walked away leaving Addison standing there asking herself what the heck was wrong with the woman.

.

Emily knocked on John's office door and she could feel her heart pounding.

"Come in" John shouted and she took a deep breath and walked in.

"Emily?" He said surprised standing up.

"We need to talk" Emily told him while she walked in further and stopped before the chairs and his desk.

"Emily about what happened I'm-" John said.

"John. You might need to sit down" she said not looking in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked her and she just stood there. "Emily what's wrong?" He demanded.

"I'm pregnant"


	56. Chapter 56: The Baby Is Here!

***** 11 years ago…**

.

.

…

"John. You might need to sit down" she said not looking in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked her and she just stood there. "Emily what's wrong?" He demanded.

"I'm pregnant"

"What?" He asked confused. "Didn't we use a ?" He said.

"I don't remember we using anything" Emily said.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"100%" Emily said copying the doctor who told her. She blinked trying to prevent tears from falling.

"And what are we going to do?" John asked.

"I don't know" she let out almost as a whisper and she felt her entire body shaking as the ocean of tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Oh Em. It's going to be okay" John told her as he walked to her and hugged her. "It's going to be alright" he said and led her to the couch. They sat beside each other and Emily just cried and he just kept hugging her.

After she calmed down a bit she said: "I told my boss. He said... Umm he said I should have an abortion but I can't do that. I can't." She cried.

"You won't." He said serious and she looked straight at his eyes.

"I'll take care .. Of the baby. You won't ever have to worry" he said as tears filled his own eyes.

"John you know my job. It's imp-" she said.

"No it's not. Don't say that. It's our child. Ours. We'll make it possible" John said smiling.

"How?" Emily whispered.

"You can use your contacts to have it somewhere far and hidden and I'll take care of the baby until you're out, until it's fine" he said.

"I don't think it will ever be. Calen is right. I have contacts inside. I was IN there. If any of those people finds out" she said unable to finish as she cried again.

"No one will." John said. "Look we can tell people it's mine with a girlfriend who left or passed away. I don't know. But we'll find a way for you to see it often. We'll make it work. We have to" John said. "We have to. It's our baby" he repeated and Emily hugged him.

She couldn't believe it. She thought he would be angry at her. She had been so scared to tell him and she wasn't expecting anything like that at all.

"We can make it work" Emily said.

"We can" John smiled at her, she smiled back and they hugged for a long time till Emily was back to her regular self without all the tears on her face.

"So 6 weeks?" He asked her after doing some math.

"Yeah" Emily smiled as he placed his hand on her belly.

"I promise you that this kid will have a beautiful and good life. I swear that I'll do everything in my power" he said still touching her belly.

She put her hands above his and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you" she said and they just sat there.

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After talking a bit more they decided what they would do.

Emily was going to say to the people on the cases she had been working that she was going to have to move to New Zealand for a while. But she would actually go to New York. John would get her an apartment on his building and since the city was so busy she wouldn't have much of a problem to go unnoticed there. She would stay there till the baby was born and she lost her pregnant belly and then she would go back to Europe and resume her work. Emily would go back to Europe and John would stay in NYC with the child. Whenever it was possible Emily would meet them in Emily's apartment in John's building, or some hotel so she would be able to see the baby.

"That's a crazy idea you know?" Emily said.

"But I think it'll work" he said.

"I think too" she agreed.

"And what do we do about them?" John asked signing with his head the door, meaning their friends.

"We gotta tell them" Emily said.

"We do" John said.

"Let's do it now before I chicken out" Emily joked and they went.

They gathered everyone in the practice's kitchen and told them. Everyone was surprised they had sex and when they told Emily was pregnant no one really believed.

"We are not joking" Emily said serious.

"You are not?" Addison asked surprised and Emily nodded.

"Oh Em" Addison said and hugged Emily.

"It's gonna be alright we have it figure out" John said and they explained to everyone their plan. Everyone agreed it was a good one and said they would take care of this baby too as their own. Emily knew them well enough to know this child would be well taken care of and very loved and that made her not feel that bad for knowing she wouldn't be always there.

They talked some more and after everything was explained Addison asked if Emily wanted an ultrasound.

"Sure" Emily said smiling at John.

"Let's go than" Addison said and everybody followed.

Derek and John got teary eyed when the little baby appeared on the screen. Addison said everything was perfect and for Emily not to worry because she would take very good care of her.

Emily was happy with the way everyone took. She knew going back to work would be very hard once the baby was there but she knew she was strong enough to do it and she knew it was the best to do. She had to protect that child with all she had.

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For the last few months Emily had done everything they had agreed on.

When she told her boss he was not happy at all but it was her choice and he would do everything to secure her identity so he managed to get her a fake passport. He put her name on the list of passengers of a flight to New Zealand and then she left with her fake passport to America.

She was using the name Katherine Bishop.

She went to New York and bought an apartment on John's building under that name and moved in.

Most days John and his son Jeremy would have dinner with her and John would always make sure she had everything she needed. Addison and Derek also stopped by a lot and Addison was now her OBGYN.

The baby was perfectly fine.

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When Emily was 19 weeks pregnant they tried to find out the sex of the baby. John and Jeremy went with her to the practice and Shepherd also wanted to be in the room.

After Addison checked everything she went to try to see the sex.

"So let's hope we can see it" Addison said and started.

"Well, the legs are crossed" Addison said with a sad tone. "We can try again on the next appointment Em"

"Okay"

"Oh bummer. I really wanted to know today" Jeremy said.

"Oh yeah. Just so you win the bet with the boys?" Addison said.

"What bet?" Emily asked serious.

"Mark and I think it's a boy. Derek swears on his life it's a girl." Jeremy said.

"It's a little Emily. You'll see" Derek said.

"It's a 1000 dollar bet. That's the only thing I can see" Addison said.

"What?" Emily asked surprised and laughing. "Are you in on this?" She asked John.

"No" John said laughing.

"Well, so everything is perfectly fine with you and the baby. And let's hope next appointment she or he won't be so shy" Addison said smiling at Emily.

Bu the next appointment came along and nothing.

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When she was 6 and a half months pregnant John started working on the baby's nursery.

"What color should I paint this?" He asked Emily staring at the big empty room that used to be his office.

"We should try again" Emily said.

"Try what?" He asked confused.

"To see the sex." Emily said.

"You're dying to know aren't you?" John asked her.

"Yeah. " she laughed.

"Let's call Addie and schedule an ultra for tomorrow huh?" John said and hugged her.

"Okay" she said hugging him back.

.

The next day they went and once again nothing.

"It seems like this one likes surprises already" Addison joked.

"There's not another way to know is there?" Emily asked.

"No" Addison said smiling.

"Look. The baby is doing perfectly fine and believe me honey no matter what it is I know you'll love it anyways" Addison said.

"Em, I've never asked but do you hope it's a boy or a girl?" John said.

"I don't care. I just wanted to know" Emily said trying not to sound upset for being unable to know.

.

They decided to paint the nursery walls white and decorate with various colors. John wanted the finished room to be a surprise for Emily. So he worked very hard, with Derek, to set up everything and then he reviled it to her.

"Oh my god. It's beautiful" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears as she entered the room. The pregnant hormones took over.

The walls were white as snow, the windows were covered by beautiful curtains that were green and had a bunch of lines in different pastel colors, just like a rainbow. The crib was white and the bedding was adorable, full of little bears. Every detail of the room was beautiful but what caught her eyes was the white rocking chair, with an "E" on the top, in the corner. She stared at it for a while.

"Well, that's yours" John said putting his hand on her back. Emily's eyes were full of tears that she fought to keep inside but failed. The thought of having just a little time in there with her child was killing her and at the same time giving her joy. She was happy to have a baby and to get to spend time with her but she knew it would be a short time and she hated that.

John hugged her knowing exactly what she was thinking.

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It was September 4th.

Almost 10pm.

A beautiful fall night in New York City.

Emily was sitting at John's couch and they were watching a movie when she felt it.

She felt a strong pain. Like a horrible cramp. She breathed slowly as John got closer to her.

"What happened?" He asked. "What's wrong?" He asked nervous as she placed her hand on her belly. Suddenly a bit of "water" came down her legs. John gasped.

"Your water broke." John said.

"It's a month away" Emily said worried.

"We are going to meet her" John said smiling and placing his hand on her belly. "Or him" he added and they laughed.

John got Emily's hospital bag, which she had organized just two days before, and they left. They called Addison on their way to the hospital and she told them to meet her there.

Once Emily and John got there everyone was waiting for them. Addison, Derek, Mark, Jeremy and his friend Luke.

They were taken to the room and it began.

Hours had passed and Emily was progressing very fast.

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September 5th.

11:26am.

Emily was dilated to a 10 and Addison said it was time to push.

"Can Derek come in? I want him to be the godfather" Emily said "and you the godmother" she smiled thru the pain.

"Of course" Emily said and signed a nurse to go get him.

"Is that alright John?" Emily asked him and he laughed.

"Of course it is. It's perfect" John said smiling. "And now let's meet this baby" he said.

Suddenly Derek walked in.

"Hi. I'm here" Derek said.

"Alright. So come on Emily you've got this" Addison said.

"3,2,1 push" Addison said and Emily pushed as much as she could as tears started rolling down her face. It was hurting a lot and she was also really scared.

"You got it. Come on… Push" Addison said and Emily did it.

"Push" John said.

"Ah ah! No I can't" Emily said as another contraction started. "I can't do this John. Ah Au" she cried as the pain and the thought of having to leave the child started to take over.

"Emily. His head is right here. He's almost here. Come on Em you got it. It's almost over" he said trying to calm her down.

"Big push Emily" Addison said and Emily pushed as strong as she could and the baby was out.

"You have a daughter" Addison said excited but that soon changed. "Come on cry" she said trying not to look so serious.

"Why isn't she crying? What's wrong?" Emily asked as her heart started racing as she tried to look at the baby on the table close to the bed where she was being cleaned and taken care of.

"why isn't she crying?" Emily said as tears rolled down her face.

Suddenly a cry filled the room.

"There you go. Good girl" Addison said.

Emily, John, Derek and even Addison cried as the little pink baby started screaming out.

Addison took her to Emily and put her on Emily's chest. She put a sheet over the little girl just leaving her head out and told Emily to tight it with her arm. And there they laid while Addison finished everything she had to do with Emily. The little girl soon calmed down on her mother's arms.

Emily couldn't take her eyes of the little baby.

"Look at all that hair" Addison smiled.

"She's so beautiful" John said.

"Bella" Emily whispered.

"What?" John asked.

"Can we name her Bella? Isabella Marshall." Emily said not taking her eyes of the girl.

"Of course we can" John said smiling and she smiled. "Hi little Isabella" he said and placed a kiss on the girl's head.

"Guys. We need to take her just for a little while to get checked" Addison said and Emily's heart sank. She didn't want to let go. But she knew she would have to do something way harder than that very soon so she had to be strong since the beginning, so she nodded yes.

"I'll bring her back soon" Addison said taking the girl away.

"She'll be okay, right?" Emily asked John. She was so scared.

"She's with her godmother." John joked smiling and Emily smiled back.

"Her godmother?" Derek asked surprised.

"And you Dr Shepherd needs to make sure no boys will break her heart. You hear me?" John said and everyone laughed. "Would you like to be her Godfather? We both really want that" John said smiling at Emily.

"Of course I do" Derek smiled big and hugged John.

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At the hospital Emily wanted the baby around her at all times. Addison knew it would be very hard for her to leave and be away once she had to do so, so she let her hold the baby as long as she wanted to.

They spent 3 days at the hospital after little Isabella was born. She was a lovely baby. Didn't cry much and whenever she did all they had to do to calm her down was let Emily hold her or John move around with her in his arms. She was having milk fine, and all her tests were clean. They had a beautiful and healthy baby.

No one but Mark and Jeremy had left the hospital for 3 days. The day they had to leave, John got a little green onesie out of the hospital bag. Derek got his work suitcase and got a bag out.

"Oh no that won't work. Here use this." Derek said handing the box to Emily. She opened and smiled big when she saw.

"This is adorable Derek" John said looking at the pink and purple striped onesie Derek had bought.

"Thank you" Emily said.

"When did you buy this?" Addison asked.

"On my way to the hospital. Right after you called to tell they were coming I stopped at the mall" Derek answered and they laughed.

"I told you it was a girl, didn't I?" He smiled. "I just wanted her to have something nice to wear instead of those boring neutral things you bought her" he told John.

"Thank you very much" Emily said smiling.

"You're welcome." He smiled.

Emily changed Isabella into the pink and purple onesie and put a little purple hat that came with it and then they gathered to take a picture. First all 5, then just Emily, John and Bella.

And then they headed home.

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The first night in the house with baby Bella was wonderful. Addison and Derek stayed over at John's place just in case they needed anything. Everyone already loved that little girl so much.

"I bought this for her a while ago" Emily said putting a white blanket on her chest and laying Bella's face in it.

"it's so cute" Addison said smiling at the scene. He had never pictured Emily as a mom but her friend was already an amazing one.

.

The next day Addison and Derek went home after lunch and for the first time Emily and John were alone with their daughter.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" John who was sitting at the couch with Isabella in his arms said to Emily who walked to the couch and sat next to him smiling.

"She looks just like her mama" he added and Emily blushed. After a moment of silence Emily decided to talk.

"Thank you for doing this" she told him. "Thank you so much for giving me her and for taking care of her for me" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears.

"No Em. Thank you. Thank you for giving me my little girl." He said and she just cried. "You'll see her. I swear I'll do anything for her to know how amazing you are" he said.

"I just... I just think.. how she's gonna know I'm her mother and.." She said ,looking at Bella who was fast asleep, unable to finish.

"I'll tell her that. Don't you ever be scared of this Emily. She will know you. She will love you. You are her mommy and you'll always be no matter where you are" John said. "Do you hear me?" He said serious and Emily looked at him and nodded yes. She laid her head on his shoulder and wiped her face.

"Let's watch a movie huh?" He said, for him movies always helped with everything. He turned the tv on and they chose a channel where a movie was playing. Not long into the film Emily was out. John couldn't help but smile.

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Two months passed like a flash.

Emily was almost back to normal. She was so scared of going back to work and leave Isabella in America. She knew John and everyone else would take good care of her baby but they were not her. They were not the mother.

One morning in November, two days after Isabella turned 2 months old, Emily and John took her to a checkup with the pediatrician at Addison's practice that was also good friends with John. Addison and Derek were always in the house to see the little girl and everyone knew she was perfectly fine, but she had to get her 2 month-old shots.

"She'll probably cry for a little while and then she'll stop. It's not that bad. You'll see" John said as they entered the practice. Addison appeared and asked if she could join them and of course Emily said yes. She was really nervous about putting the little girl through pain even if it was for her own good.

They went to the doctor's office and the doctor checked Bella up. The girl just smiled at them the entire them. When he was done he left the office and Emily picked Isabella up.

"Alright. So she needs three shots." The doctor said reentering the room.

"Okay" Emily said kissing the girl's head.

"John. Do you mind?" She said handing Bella to him. She was embarrassed about it but she really didn't want to be the one holding the baby down.

"Come here my little pumpkin" John said smiling at the little baby who just smiled back at him. He laid her down at the exam table and undid her onesie. Her little legs moved around as John held her arms away from it. The doctor got Band-Aids placed on the side of the table and put the three syringes right beside it.

"Alright. Are you ready?" He said to John who nodded and laughed a little. He hated holding Jeremy down for shots and he just hoped it wasn't going to be as bad with Bella.

The doctor cleaned her leg and began. She didn't cry when the needle went in but once the medicine starting going in, she cried. It wasn't a loud cry but it was enough to make everyone's heart shrink. They just wanted to get her out of there. He gave her the next one and the crying got even louder.

"Wait a little bit" Emily told the doctor. She just felt so bad.

"It's just one more Em. She's fine" John said and Emily took a deep breath.

"She'll stop crying in a minute" Addison said taking Emily's hand. Addison couldn't believe how the new mommy was being. Emily had always been so strong and tough and never really seemed scared. But right there she was.

The doctor gave Isabella the last shot and put the Band-Aids on her and the girl just kept crying loudly.

"There you go. All done" he said with a baby voice while placed the last Band-Aid on her leg. John closed her onesie as fast as he could and picked her up. He tried rocking her but she just wouldn't stop. Emily picked her up and just whispered "shuuuu shuuu" a lot of times on Isabella's ear till she finally calmed down.

Emily took a deep breath and walked out of the room. It was finally over.

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Two months and 16 days had passed since Isabella was born. Everything was going great. She was very attached to Emily but loved when John moved around holding her.

It was Saturday, November 21. The day had been great. Emily stayed in the apartment with Isabella while John went to work and there was nothing she loved more than just watch her baby discover things. It was almost 6pm when her phone rang. She answered and it was Calen. He told her they were working hard on a case in France that she had worked on and that they needed her back immediately.

"Why? What happened?" She asked trying not to sound too scared while she stared at the sleeping baby in her arms.

"They went to the place you told them you were working on." Calen said.

"And.?" She asked.

"The owner did as told and said you had left to London the week before. Apparently he is looking for you Emily. You told him how long it would be and you're 16 days over that." Calen said.

"I know" Emily said as tears filled her eyes as she just kept staring at the baby.

"You'll need to come this week." Calen said and Emily remained silent. "Emily. I know it's going to be hard but the moment you chose to have this child you chose to deal with all of this." He said.

"I'll be there on Monday" Emily said and hung up. She just couldn't stand talking to him anymore. She took Isabella's face to her face and kissed the baby's forehead for a long time.

She was so into that moment that she didn't even see John standing in from of her.

"Emily?" He said. She looked up surprised. "What happened?" He asked hurrying to take a seat beside her. "Is she okay?" He asked.

"Calen called" Emily told him, wiping her face and taking a deep breath. "I need to be there on Monday." She said and he just went and hugged her.

"look at her" John said as he let go of Emily. Emily stared at the little baby.

"Whenever it's too much just remember why you're doing it" John said and she looked at him. "You're doing it for her now. To keep the bad guys away." He said. "And I'll make sure she knows that" he added.

Emily nodded.

"And whenever you have time off, really any time even two days, you'll come and you'll see her and be with her" he said. "I was thinking and you can come here or we can meet in a hotel if you're another city. We'll make it work. We will" John said.

Emily nodded again "yeah" she whispered and just stared at Bella. Just the thought of having to leave her daughter in 2 days were making her shake.

She knew that that day would come.

She thought she was ready for that but she wasn't.

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The next two day went by really fast. Emily didn't leave Isabella alone not even for a minute. She even slept in the rocking chair at the little girl's bedroom.

When Monday morning came John woke her up at 7:30 with pancakes for breakfast. She tried not to look so nervous about it all.

After eating she pumped some breast milk to leave for the little girl. She hated doing that but she had been doing it for a while in case Isabella had any problems with formula.

After she was done she gave Isabella a bath and then breast fed. Isabella fell asleep and Emily carried her to the living room where John was working on some papers.

"Are you alright?" He asked Emily as soon as she appeared at the room.

"Yeah." She said not convincing at all.

"Come here" he told her and she walked and sat next to him.

"It's going to be okay." He said and she nodded. He could see she was holding it all in. He could tell just by looking in her eyes how hard that was being.

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Around 9am John knew she had to leave. Emily's plane left at 10:40am. John grabbed her luggage and left at the door and then went to get her from Isabella's nursery.

When he walked in she was staring at the sleeping baby on the crib.

"Emily. We gotta go" John said.

"You guys should stay here" she said.

"What? No" he said walking in.

"I don't know if it's safe there. Not with me" Emily said. "I already called a cab" she said taking the little girl's hand. Isabella wrapped her fingers tightly around Emily's index finger and the woman smiled.

"Just take care of our girl, okay?" Emily said not taking her eyes off Bella.

"Hey look at me" John said. She looked at him and both had tears in their eyes but neither was crying.

"I promise I will" John said and Emily smiled and nodded. She picked the sleeping girl up and kissed her, then she placed her back down on the crib. She kissed Isabella's forehead and whispered "I love you Bells. Your daddy is gonna be right here, okay? I love you. I love you so much".

Suddenly they heard the buzzer.

"He's here" Emily told John.

"Hey. You know where we'll be. You can call whenever it's possible. We won't go anywhere." He said trying to smile thru the pain and hugged Emily.

"Please take care of her. Okay?" Emily said fighting her tears.

"Always" he promised. "And you take care too." He added.

"I will" she said. "I have to go" she said taking another look on the sleeping baby and walking out.

John followed her and said goodbye again at the door.

She told herself a million times inside the elevator to be tough. She got in the cab and headed to the airport.

It all only hit her once the plane took off. For her luck she sat on the back of the plane and there wasn't anyone next to her. She opened her bag and got the purple hat Isabella had worn going home from the hospital. She let herself cry and she couldn't hold anything anymore. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried like that. After a while she was able to control the sobbing but It took her a long time to stop crying.

It was the worst flight ever and the worst day of her life.


	57. Chapter 57: Forgiveness

***** Back in the "present" time… 11 years later**

* * *

.

.

…

 **(Tuesday)**

Present time...

Washington D.C. September 7th.

After staring at the ceiling for a while thinking about everything, Emily decided she should sleep. It was getting late and she had to go to work in the morning. She headed to bed and laid right next to her daughter who was fast asleep. She moved closer to the girl and ran her fingers through the child's hair till she fell asleep too.

She was so happy the trip was a success.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Emily woke up with the alarm clock at 6:30 and woke Bella up.

"Hey Bella. Wake up. Time for school" she sang and the little girl stretched and opened her eyes.

"Good morning" Emily said placing a kiss on the child's forehead.

"Morning mommy" Bella whispered.

"Let's get ready?" Emily said and Bella nodded. Emily got ready for work and Bella got ready for school. They ate breakfast and headed out.

"Are you excited to be back?" Emily asked as she parked the car.

"I guess so" Bella said not sounding very excited.

"Anything just call." Emily smiled and wrapped Bella in a hug.

"Okay" the girl said.

"Do I need to pick you up early like we had talked about?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella said and Emily tried to not look so surprised but she failed. "What?" Bella asked embarrassed.

"Nothing" Emily smiled. "I'll see you at 3:30 at the office then." Emily said smiling and Bella headed to the school.

 **.**

The morning went great for both of them. Emily did a lot of paperwork and told her friends how the trip went. Everyone was very happy about it.

It was 3pm when things changed.

She was at Penelope's office when Rossi walked in.

"You have a visitor" he said and Emily walked out.

She froze as she saw Jeremy waiting for her at Rossi's office.

"What is he doing here?" Emily said walking up the stairs.

"Hi" she said walking inside the office.

"Hi. I'm sorry I came without calling but I just..." He started.

"You want to see her?" Emily said. She didn't know exactly how she felt about that.

"Yes" he said.

"I don't know if today is a good idea" Emily said. She didn't know if Bella was ready for that. The girl had not mentioned him since that night when they were watching tv.

"I just want to apologize" he said. "I have to apologize" he said.

Emily felt bad for him.

"You can wait here. She'll get back from school in a while and if she's up too, you guys can talk" she said and he looked thankful. "But i won't force her to talk to you" she added.

"Okay" he said nodding.

"I have to go back to working now" Emily said and walked out.

"What does he wants?" Rossi asked.

"He wants to talk to her" Emily said.

"Are you letting him?" He asked surprised.

"I knew it would happen sooner or later so it's best if it's here you know" she said and walked back to Penelope's office.

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At school Bella, Chloe and Gavin were very happy the entire day. They talked about the trip and just loved all the memories they had made together. Luckily the bullies didn't bother them, they just looked at them from time to time and Bella could tell they were jealous about the Disney trip.

When the last bell rang the children were happy to go home. Chloe got Millie and headed to her bus while Gavin and Bella went to their bus.

"See you tomorrow" Gavin said as his stop was approaching.

"Bye" Bella smiled and he walked out.

She looked outside and smiled. She was happy. She was truly happy. She loved her friends and her family, things seemed to be okay at school. Everything was great.

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Isabella walked inside the BAU and smiled as she saw Reid standing close to Emily's desk.

"Hey" he smiled at her. She walked to him and hugged him.

"We missed you around here" he said and she smiled.

"Where's my mom?" She asked and suddenly she heard yelling.

"No Emily. You can't do this to her" Derek said mad standing in front of Rossi's office. Emily walked out of the door behind him and closed the door. She had just walked in on Derek losing his shit, screaming at Jeremy for everything he had done.

"She'll be okay" Emily said.

"She's not seeing him" he said angry.

Suddenly Bella saw Jeremy through the blinds. Her heart started beating fast. Spencer had his hand on her shoulder as they watched Emily and Derek arguing.

"He's a bastard!" Derek said loud.

"Guys" JJ said walking in as she saw Bella was there. Emily and Derek turned and looked at her.

"Bella" Emily said feeling bad the girl watched all of that. She walked to the girl, who had tears streaming down her face.

Emily hugged her.

"You don't have to see him if you don't want to" Derek said walking to her too.

Bella looked down at the floor. She wasn't sure if she should talk to Jeremy or not.

"He just wants to talk. Nothing more" Emily said letting go of the hug.

Bella took a little time to think and then said "okay. Just talk" Bella took a deep breath and asked Morgan "can you go with me?"

"Of course I can" he said. He really didn't want Bella to talk to Jeremy but if she wanted too he would be there for her.

"You too" Bella said turning to Emily.

Emily grabbed her hand and they walked to Rossi's office where Jeremy was waiting. After Derek had come in yelling at him he was certain he wouldn't be seeing Bella that day but he was wrong.

He looked surprised as the girl walked in.

"Hi" he said.

"Hi" Bella said almost a whisper. Emily led the girl to a chair but Bella didn't sit down.

"Come here" Morgan said sitting down and pulling the girl to his lap.

"He just wants to talk" Emily said, she could see Bella was a little scared.

"I heard you went to Disney world" Jeremy smiled walking close to her. "Did you have fun?" He asked and she just nodded yes avoiding eye contact.

He walked to her and kneed down in front of her. "Hey look at me" he said taking both of her hands in his.

She looked him in the eyes and he just felt horrible. Isabella's face seemed like she was scared and really sad. He hated it.

"I'm so sorry Bella" he said and took a deep breath. "I just wanted to protect you and I thought that you'd be safer with me. And that with time you'd be okay" he said as his eyes filled with tears. "I know now that I was wrong. Dad wanted you with Emily. And even though I ..." He said and stopped. He still didn't really agree. "I have to respect their decisions as your parents." He said. "So I'm very very sorry for what I did to you. I love you so much and I didn't mean to hurt you like this" he said as tears fell from his and Isabella's eyes.

"Do you forgive me?" He asked.

Bella stayed silent for a while and then asked "you'll never do anything like that again, right?"

"No. I swear to you. I'll never hurt you again" he said.

"Okay" Bella said.

He opened his arms asking for a hug and she hugged him.

"I love you. I love you so much" he said standing and lifting her up.

She stayed quiet and didn't say I love you back.

Jeremy put her down on the floor and Bella hugged Emily. "I wanna go now" the little girl said. Morgan stood up immediately ready to take the girl away. He stood out his hand and Bella took it.

"Bye" Jeremy said.

"Bye" she said almost a whisper and walked out with Morgan.

Derek closed the door behind him and Bella started sobbing. "Come here" he said picking the girl up. He took her to Penelope's office.

"What happened?" Penelope asked confused.

"She talked to Jeremy" Derek said a little angry.

"And..?" Penelope asked.

"I'm okay. I just wanna go home" Bella said as Derek put her down on the couch. Penelope sat next to her and wrapped her in a hug.

"Can you take me home?" Bella asked Derek but still crying and hugging Garcia.

"Sure" Derek said and the little girl let go of Garcia and hugged him. He lifted her up again and sat on the couch with the girl on his lap. They sat there and waited for Emily.

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At Rossi's office:

"Thank you for letting me see her" Jeremy said.

"You can call her anytime but if you want to see her make sure you call me first" Emily said normally. She didn't look serious or anything.

"I will" he said looking thankful.

"You should go now" Emily said.

"Do you think I could see her tomorrow maybe?" He said.

"I don't think she'll want that Jeremy. I can ask but.." Emily said and he nodded understanding.

"Please ask her and let me know" he said walking to the door.

"I will" Emily said.

"Bye" he said.

"Bye" Emily said and he left.

Emily went to look for Bella.

"Where's she?" Emily asked JJ, who was standing close to Reid's desk.

"At Penelope's" JJ said with a "sorry type of smile".

Emily walked inside Penelope's office to find Isabella in tears.

"Come here" she said and the girl went to her. She picked her up and sat on the couch.

"You were very brave" Emily said running her hand on the girl's arm.

"Mommy" Bella said crying.

"Yes baby?" Emily said.

"I lied" Bella said shyly.

"About what?" Emily asked a little confused.

"I don't think I forgive him" Bella said and just cried.

"Oh honey. You don't have to forgive him right now. That will come with time" Emily said hugging the girl tight.

"You just have to give him a chance" Penelope said.

"Can we go home now?" Bella asked.

"I'm almost done. I'll just finish some papers and then we can go, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"You'll stay here with aunt Penelope?" Emily asked.

"No, you" Bella said.

"Okay" Emily said standing up and carrying the girl to her desk. Derek followed them and pulled a chair so Bella could sit next to Emily.

Emily sat Bella down and the girl wiped her face. She had stopped crying already.

"Hey I got a new book yesterday. Do you want to read it? I just finished" Reid said holding a copy of 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. Bella nodded yes and he handed her the book. Derek sat to work on his desk and Emily started working too while Bella sat there and started reading the book. The girl started getting sleepy so she closed the book, put it on Emily's desk and rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. Emily ran her fingers through the girl's hair. "Are you okay?" She asked and Bella nodded yes and opened her eyes.

"Just tired?" Emily asked and Bella nodded again.

"I'm almost done" Emily said with a small smile and Bella closed her eyes.

It didn't take long for the girl to fall asleep.

Emily worked for a while longer and then she headed home. Derek insisted on carrying Bella to the car so she wouldn't wake up. Emily drove home and smiled as she saw Bella passed out laying in the backseat.

"Hey. We're home. Let's go up" Emily said waking Bella up. They went up to their apartment and Bella went straight to the stairs.

"Hey. It's 6 baby. It's not bed time" Emily said as she took a look at the clock and saw it was way too early for the girl to go to bed. "Let's sit and watch a movie, come on" she added and Bella shook her head no and walked upstairs to her mother's bed. She laid down, hugged Duffy and closed her eyes and tried to sleep again but she failed.

Emily sat to watch tv and it wasn't long till Bella walked downstairs.

"Couldn't sleep?" Emily asked with a small smile.

Bella shook her head no.

"Come here" Emily said and Bella walked to her with Duffy in hands. Emily pulled the girl to her lap and made her lay down in her chest. Bella hugged Duffy and close her eyes.

"I love you" Emily said.

"I love you too" Bella whispered and hugged Emily.

"How about pizza for dinner?" Emily said smiling glad to be home with her daughter again. Bella smiled letting go of the hug and nodded yes.

"Okay, so let's order and watch a movie" Emily said. She grabbed her phone, that was on the couch right next to her, and ordered pepperoni pizza. They started watching Star Wars episode 5 and they finished watching while eating dinner. Bella's mood was better and she was talking happily again. After they were done they got ready for bed and laid down, both on Emily's bed.

"Goodnight mommy" Bella said.

"Goodnight" Emily smiled and gave Bella a kiss on the cheek.

There was a bit of silence and then Bella said: "mommy? Did you forgive him?"

Emily opened her eyes to find Bella staring at her. She nodded yes.

"So I forgive him too" Bella said. "We're together now and that's what matters, right?. I don't care about what happened anymore. I'll be with you no matter what" Bella said.

Emily smiled. "No matter what" she said and wrapped her arms around the girl. Both closed their eyes and it wasn't long till they fell asleep.

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 **(Thursday)**

Thursday went great for Emily and Bella. Things at school went great and Emily didn't have a case. So they were back at home around 6. Emily cooked Mac and cheese for dinner while Bella took a shower. They ate and then watched some tv and Bella ended up falling asleep on the couch.

Emily was watching Masterchef when suddenly her phone started ringing. It was Jeremy.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hi. It's me" Jeremy said. "I just tried calling Bella but she didn't answer so I just wanted to check if everything is okay" he said honestly.

"Everything is fine. I think her phone is upstairs and she passed out on the couch" Emily said.

"Oh okay" he smiled picturing Bella sleeping on the couch. The girl always ended up in the weirdest positions.

"I'll tell her you called" Emily said.

"Okay." He agreed. "Oh Emily, do you think umm... Do you think she would like to go have dinner with me tomorrow? Im still in DC" he said.

"I'm not sure. But I'll ask her" Emily said.

"You can come too of course. And maybe she can take a friend" he said.

"Alright. I'll talk to her and I'll let you know" Emily said smiling. She could see Jeremy wanted them to be okay again.

"Alright. Bye" he said.

"Bye" Emily said and hung up. She stayed in the living room till about 10 watching tv and then decided to go up. She carried Bella to bed and laid next to the girl. It wasn't very long till she was out too.

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 **(Friday)**

Emily woke up that morning and Bella was awake but still in bed.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked the girl.

"Not long. I just woke up too" Bella said.

They got ready and sat to eat waffles for breakfast.

"Bella, Jeremy called me last night" Emily said.

"I assumed he had. There was a bunch of missed calls on my phone" Bella said taking a bite of her waffle.

"He invited us to have dinner with him tonight" Emily said.

"Are we going?" Bella asked and got a bit tense. Emily could see that.

"It's up to you" Emily said.

"Can I think about it?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily said with a small smile and Bella smiled back.

They finished eating and headed out. Emily dropped Bella off and went to work.

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At school Bella couldn't stop thinking about the dinner. She kind of wanted to go but at the same time she didn't.

During lunch Gavin and Chloe could tell something was up.

"Are you okay?" Gavin asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Bella said a bit confused.

"You're a little weird today" Chloe said.

Bella hadn't told them about Jeremy apologizing.

"I'm fine" Bella said eating some chips.

"Sure" Chloe said and laughed.

"It's Jeremy" Bella spitted out.

"What's with Jeremy's this time?" Gavin asked making a face.

"He apologized to me the other day and he invited mom and I for dinner tonight" she said.

"Did you forgive him?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah" Bella said nodding. "He's my brother. I mean I guess he was worried and scared or whatever. But you know... I'm home now and that's what matters" she said.

"So what's worrying you about the dinner?" Gavin asked.

"I don't know" she said. "What if it's too weird?" She said.

"Well it's gonna be weird after everything. But maybe it will be fun" Chloe said.

"Yeah. You guys used to have fun together, right?" Gavin asked and Bella nodded yes. She used to love going out with him.

"It might be fun B" Chloe said smiling.

"Yeah maybe" Bella said not sounding very excited.

"Hey, I'm sure that if you tell your mom you want to leave she'll take you out in a flash" Gavin smiled.

Bella couldn't help but smile too.

The bell rang and they headed back to class. Bella decided to give it a try so she sent her mother a text.

'Mom, let's go to dinner with Jeremy tonight. It's okay ;)'

Emily was sitting with Morgan in the conference room when she got the text. She smiled and felt proud of Bella for deciding to go.

'Okay. I'll let him know. See you soon. Love, mom'

Bella smiled at the reply and went back to paying attention to the class.

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The day went by superfast.

After school Bella went to the BAU and sat in Penelope's office to work on her homework. When she was done she sat on the floor below Emily's desk and read the book Spencer had given her.

When Emily was done with work they headed home and got ready to go out to eat.

"Let's go?" Emily asked as Bella walked downstairs. The girl had a black dress with white polka dots on it and her pink sparkly doc martins. Emily smiled at the outfit choice.

They headed to the car and drove to Olive Garden at the mall. When they got there she could see Bella was very nervous.

"If you want to go home just tell me and we'll go" Emily said and Isabella smiled remembering what her friends had said earlier that day.

"Why are you smiling?" Emily asked confused.

"Gavin said you'd take me home in flash" Bella said.

"I'm glad your friends know me" Emily smiled.

"Let's go mom" Bella said firm. She was ready.

They walked out and Emily grabbed Isabella's hand. They walked in to find Jeremy and Marley waiting for them.

"Why is she here?" Bella asked a little tense.

"Hey. It's okay." Emily said smiling trying to calm the girl.

They walked to the table and Marley and Jeremy smiled.

"Hi. I'm glad you came" Jeremy told Bella who gave him a shy smile and failed at trying not to look so nervous.

They sat and ordered. While waiting for the food Jeremy started asking questions about the trip.

"so how was Disney world?" He asked.

Bella just sat there so Emily answered.

"It was fun. We went to the Harry Potter Park too" she said.

"Oh really? I bet you loved that Bella" Marley said.

Bella looked at her and nodded embarrassed. She was trying hard to control her breathing because she wasn't feeling very good.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale" Emily said grabbing Isabella's hand.

Bella nodded and hid her face on Emily's chest.

"Do you want to go home?" Emily asked.

Bella shook her head no and Emily felt her body shake as the girl started crying.

"Oh Bella" Emily said hugging the girl.

Jeremy walked to her and kneed down.

"I'm so sorry" he said with tears in his eyes. "I never wanted things to be like this" he said as a tear escaped.

Isabella let go of Emily and wrapped her arms around Jeremy neck. He just hugged her and both cried.

"I'm sorry" he said after a while.

"It's okay" Bella said letting go of the hug and sitting straight on her chair. Jeremy stood up and hugged her again and then sat on his seat.

The girl looked sad and Jeremy just felt awful.

The food got there and they started eating. Bella was a little shy but Emily could tell she wasn't so tense anymore.

suddenly Bella told Jeremy "That looks good. Can I have a bite?"

The three grownups smiled and Jeremy let her try it.

"It's good huh?" He said smiling and she nodded yes smiling shyly.

The rest of the dinner went great. By the end of it Bella seemed more relaxed and she was telling Jeremy something she did on the trip. He was excited and happy that things were going great.

"So I'll see you soon?" Jeremy asked Bella.

"Sure" Bella said smiling shyly. He hugged her and they said their goodbye and headed to the car.

Emily drove to an ice cream shop at the other side of the mall.

"Why are we stopping?" Bella asked confused.

"Do you want to go in there?" Emily asked pointing to the ice cream shop.

Bella smiled and nodded yes. They walked to the shop and Emily had one arm around Bella's shoulder. They got their ice creams and sat to eat.

"Is it good?" Emil asked smiling as Bella took a big bite.

"Yeah" Bella said with her mouth full of chocolate ice cream and Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm very very proud of you today" Emily said and Bella smiled shyly. "Your dad would be proud too" Emily added.

"Mom?" Bella said.

"Yes"?" Emily said waiting for a question.

"Do you think things will be like before?" Bella said and Emily looked a bit confused. "With Jeremy and I. Like before dad died" Bella explained.

"I think it might" Emily said. She knew even though he hurt Bella the girl just wanted her big brother back. Back like he used to be. The fun big brother that took her out to have fun and was always making her laugh. She knew Bella just wanted that back.

Isabella smiled and they finished eating their ice cream.

They headed home and got ready for bed.

"Go brush your teeth" Emily told Bella when the girl finished brushing her hair. Bella did what she was told to do and then headed to Emily's bedroom. This time she had her blanket in hands.

Emily looked a bit concern when she saw it.

"relax mom. I'll leave it under the pillow" Bella said walking to the bed where Emily was sitting. She put the blanket under the pillow and sat next to Emily resting her back on the head of the bed.

"I don't mind you using your blanket honey" Emily said.

"I know". Bella said. "But you did look a little scared" the girl added.

"It's just that you haven't been using it since we were in Orlando so I thought something was wrong" Emily said.

"I'm okay. There's nothing wrong" Bella said and Emily smiled and wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Will you go on a case on Monday?" Bella asked letting go of the hug.

"Maybe" Emily said.

"When I'm with Penelope I can use my blanket, right? I mean if I need to" Bella asked shyly.

"Of course you baby" Emily said smiling and hugging the girl again.

"It's just that sometimes when you're away I get a little scared" Bella said not lifting her head from Emily's chest.

"Scared of what?" Emily said and kept hugging the girl.

"I don't know. A bunch of things I guess" Bella said.

"It's okay to be scared honey. We talked about that before right?" Emily said.

"But now there's Jeremy. And I know he can't get me anymore but I just can't stop thinking about it. It's like he's gonna show up when you're not here and take me" Bella said. "I forgave him mommy I really did and I love him but I'm a little scared of that still" Bella said letting a couple tears fall.

"Baby your brother loves you. And he promised to never hurt you again. He promised me that and I know he'll keep his promise. You don't have to be afraid of him. Not even one little bit." Emily said. "He'll never do anything to take you from me ever again" Emily said and Bella just stayed quiet.

After a little while Emily laid down and took the girl with her. She kept hugging Bella as both closed their eyes.

"Mommy?" Bella whispered.

"Yeah" Emily said opening her eyes to find the girl staring at her.

"No one will take me from you, right?" Bella said.

"No one" Emily said and tightened the hug.

She ran her hand on the girl's back till both of them fell asleep.


	58. Chapter 58: Battle Scars

…

The weekend went by like a flash. Emily and Bella stayed home. Emily worked on some paperwork and house cleaning while Bella had to catch up with school. Chloe stopped by on Saturday and Sunday afternoon to work on some homework and a science project with Bella. Jeremy called Emily and said he was going back to Seattle so he said his goodbyes to Bella. The weekend went great.

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 **(Monday)**

Monday came too soon for Isabella's taste. She walked downstairs to eat breakfast and she couldn't help but look nervous. Which of course Emily saw right away.

"What's with the face baby?" Emily asked Bella already knowing the answer.

"Nothing" Bella said and took a bite of her waffle.

"Are you nervous to go to school or that I'm going to work?" Emily asked making a face that Bella knew she was expecting the truth.

"A little bit of both I guess" Bella said looking down at her plate.

"If you need you can call me. You know that" Emily said walking to sit next to the girl.

"I know" Bella said biting the waffle again.

Emily wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Finish this quick or we'll be late" Emily said and finished her coffee. They finished and headed out. Emily dropped Bella off and headed to work and just like she expected the team was going away on a case.

Jackson, Mississippi, this time.

"I'll watch the monkey" Penelope told Emily who smiled and headed to the car with the rest of the team.

She texted Bella:

'We're heading to Mississippi. Go to the office and stay with Garcia. Okay?'

.

Bella's class had just started when she felt her phone vibrate. She picked it up already knowing what it was.

'Okay. Be careful. I love you' she texted and went back to paying attention to the class.

.

Emily smiled and put her phone in her pocket.

"Did she take it okay?" JJ asked.

"seems like it" Emily smiled. She knew Isabella wasn't really okay but she knew she would be alright.

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It took 3 days for the team to get the unsub.

In Quantico, Bella had a hard first day. She was okay while she was in the office but when she went to Penelope's house that night she had a hard time going to sleep and ended up waking up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. She cried a little bit but Penelope managed to calm her down and it wasn't very long till the child fell asleep again. She had left her blanket at home which kind of made things a bit worse.

Tuesday went okay. She had a great time at school and slept in the office because Penelope had to work.

On Wednesday, Chloe invited Bella to sleep over at her house and Penelope was impressed that the girl actually wanted to go.

"You'll probably stay here tonight again" Bella told Penelope and the woman knew the girl was probably right. Penelope took her home so she could pack some things and then dropped her at Chloe's.

At Hilary's house things couldn't have gone any better. Bella was a bit nervous in the beginning but ended up having a lot of fun. They watched a movie, played piano together, played with Millie and Bowie, and had a great time. They went to bed around 9:30 and Hilary made sure Isabella knew that if she needed anything she could go get her. Luckily the girl slept the entire night just fine and didn't even get the blanket from her bag.

The girl's woke up the next day at 6:30 with the alarm clock. They got ready and went to have breakfast. Hilary cooked bacon and scrambled eggs. They ate and headed to school.

School went great for the three friends. When Bella headed to the office she thought about asking to stay at Chloe's again but when she walked inside she was very happy to see her mother was back.

"Hi" Emily said smiling as the little girl ran to her. Emily lifted her up. "I missed you" she said.

"I missed you too" Bella said.

"Did you have fun at Chloe's?" Emily asked putting Bella down.

"Yeah" the girl said with a big smile and Emily could see she was telling the truth, which made her very happy.

They stayed in the office till about 6:30 and then headed home. Emily stopped at McDonald's and got them dinner then drove home. They ate while watching tv, got ready for bed, got a snack and then headed up.

"Do you want to share the bed?" Emily asked Bella as they walked upstairs.

"Yes" Bella said fast.

Emily smiled and then went to bed.

Both were tired, and happy to be together again. They laid down and it wasn't long till they were asleep.

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 **(Friday)**

Morning went great.

At the office Bella was having a snack in Penelope's office when Emily walked in to tell her some bad news. They had another case. Milwaukee this time.

"But you came back yesterday" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears. She was still having a hard time with being away from her mother, especially after the custody battle.

Emily knew the kid would be upset for her having to leave again so soon. She hugged Bella and promised to call and go back soon.

"It's okay munchkin" Penelope told Bella after Emily walked out of the room. The little girl just broke down. Penelope hugged her till she calmed down.

The night went better then Penelope expected. They watched doctor who and Bella fell asleep during it. And she slept the entire night.

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 **(Saturday)**

Penelope headed to the office around 8 and took Bella with her, who was not very happy about staying there on Saturday.

Bella was texting Chloe for a while, talking about Emily being away again, when Chloe invited her to go to her house.

"Penny? Can I go to Chloe's?" Isabella asked.

"Oh baby I can't leave work right now" Penelope said and Bella looked a bit sad.

She told Chloe she couldn't go and the reason why. So Chloe asked Hilary if she could pick Bella up and Hilary said yes. Bella told Penelope and the woman said it was okay then. So it wasn't very long till Hilary walked in to get Bella.

The girl's had an awesome day.

Bella missed Emily but she couldn't deny she was having fun. They went to the mall for lunch and walked around a little and then Hilary took them to the movie theater. After that they got ice cream and headed home. Hilary told Bella she could sleepover if she wanted and the girl said yes so Hilary called Penelope and asked if the girl could stay which of course Penelope agreed.

Later at night Emily called.

"Hi mom!" Bella said happily.

"Hi baby. Garcia told me you're staying at Chloe's" Emily said.

"Yeah. Is that okay?" Bella asked.

"Of course it is baby. Have fun, alright?" Emily said. She had a smile on her face. She was glad Bella sounded happy.

"When are you coming back?" Bella asked.

"I'm not sure Bells. We haven't really got anywhere" Emily said, her smiled fading.

"Oh." Bella said.

"But we'll be back soon don't worry" Emily said.

"Just be careful, okay mom?" Bella said serious.

"Always baby" Emily smiled. Suddenly JJ walked in and she had to go. "I have to go now but I'll call tomorrow. Have a good night"

"You too mommy. Bye" Bella said.

"Bye. I love you" Emily smiled.

"Love you" Bella said and they hung up.

"Is she coming back?" Chloe asked.

"Nop" Bella said trying not to look upset.

"She'll be back soon, don't worry" Chloe smiled. "Do you wanna play piano again?" She asked changing the subject.

"Sure" Bella said and they head to play.

The rest of the night went okay. The girl's went to bed at 9:30 and talked till about 10.

"So he said that next week we'll start practicing for the performance. It's gonna be so cool, right?" Chloe said excited but Bella didn't say anything. She looked at Bella and the girl was fast asleep next to her. Chloe laughed and decided to try to sleep too. It wasn't long till she was out.

On the next day, Sunday, they woke up around 10 and Hilary decided to take them to the zoo. She really couldn't have had a better idea. The girls had an amazing time there and Hilary felt good seeing Bella and Chloe having so much fun together. She was happy for both girls.

She called Penelope to see if she had an idea of when Emily would be back but the woman didn't know, so she asked if Bella could stay over again and Penelope said yes and thanked her for watching Bella because she was actually packed with work.

"Bella, I talked to Garcia and she said that you can stay with us again today if you want to" Hilary said as the girl's sat to eat at the zoo's restaurant.

"Okay" Bella said with a smile.

"Alright" Hilary smiled back. She was so happy the girl looked excited for it.

They ate and then walked around the zoo some more. Later they stopped at the mall and then headed home.

It was almost 10 and Bella started getting a bit anxious because Emily said she would call but she hadn't yet. So Isabella did.

But no one answered.

She tried Morgan's... Nothing.

Spencer... Nothing.

JJ... Nothing.

She felt her heat beating really fast as she started getting scared. Her breathing got strange as she could feel the tears filling her eyes. She was trying Emily's again and suddenly Hilary walked in the room.

"Bella" she said worried as she saw the girl's red face with tears running down her cheeks.

"They're not answering" Bella said and just cried. Hilary hurried and hugged the girl. Suddenly Chloe stepped out of the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" She asked scared.

"Nothing baby. She's going to be alright" Hilary said pulling Bella to her lap. "Let's go to bed guys, it's really late and you have school tomorrow" she added.

Isabella tightened the hug and nodded no.

"Bella your mom is okay. She's probably busy that's all" Hilary said.

"But I tried Derek and Spencer and even JJ and they didn't answer too" Bella cried.

"They are okay Honey. They are just busy working" Hilary said.

"I want my mom" Bella cried.

"Oh sweetie" Hilary said as Bella just cried in her arms.

"Can we sleep on your bed tonight?" Chloe asked making a face as if telling Hilary that might help Bella.

"Of course guys" Hilary said. "Let's go" she said and Bella stood up and got her blanket. They went to Hilary's bedroom and Hilary laid in the middle. Bella hugged her tight and suddenly her phone started ringing. She picked it up quickly from the nightstand and a big 'MOM' was written on the screen with a picture of Emily smiling.

"Mom?" Bella said fast.

"Hi baby" Emily said and Bella just cried. "Hey what's wrong?" Emily said.

"You didn't answer me and I got scared." Bella said.

"Oh honey I'm sorry, we were delivering the profile" Emily said.

"I called others too" Bella said.

"I'm sorry baby. But we're all okay" Emily said.

"Are you coming back?" Bella asked.

"Not yet" Emily said. "But soon, okay?" Emily added quickly.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Is Hilary there?" Emily asked and Bella said yes. "Can I talk to her?"

"Sure" Bella said passing the phone to Hilary.

"Hi" Hilary said and Emily started explaining everything to her. She said it was a hard case and they hadn't really got much. They didn't have a solid profile and things weren't looking great at all. She explained it could take longer than usual for them to get back and she asked if Hilary could keep an eye on Bella because she didn't want Bella in the office this time. Of course Hilary said yes. They said their goodbyes and Hilary have the phone to Bella.

"Baby, Hilary is gonna watch you while I'm here okay?" Emily said.

"I'm not staying with Penelope?" Bella asked a bit scared. She didn't really know how she felt about it. She had fun at Chloe's but she felt really safe with Penelope.

"Garcia is going to be working a lot and you're having fun there so Hilary and I think you and Chloe could use some fun together" Emily said trying to sound happy.

"Okay" Bella said.

"I'll be back soon. Don't worry" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said again.

"I love you" Emily said softly.

"I love you too mom" Bella said with a little smile.

"Goodnight" Emily said. Bella said it back and they hung up. Bella put the phone back in the nightstand and hugged Hilary again. She felt way better after hearing her mother's voice.

It didn't take very long for the three of them to sleep.

Emily in the other hand had a crazy night. The team headed to the hotel at 3am and she could barely sleep. She headed back to work at 7:30 and dove in. She just wanted to finish it and go back to her baby.

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 **(Monday)**

The girl's woke up with Millie jumping on the bed which was funny. The day started with everyone in a great mood, even Bella.

They headed to school and when they walked inside the classroom there was a girl siting where Isabella usually sat.

"Who is she?" Chloe asked.

"I've never seen her before" Gavin said. Bella looked a bit sad someone had taken her seat but she didn't say anything. They walked there and Bella sat right behind the girl, Gavin sat next to Bella and Chloe next to the new girl.

The class started and the teacher said "today we have a new friend joining us. Rose Nicholls." He said and the girl smiled shyly. "Rose, Do you mind telling us a little bit about you"

The girl smiled shyly and stood up. She was taller than Isabella but shorter than Chloe. She was very pale, had a very long brown wavy hair and green eyes. Her hair was in a ponytail.

"My name is Rose but everyone calls me Ro. I'm from Dallas, Texas, but I lived in New York all my life." She said "well, till we moved here three weeks ago" she added not sounding really happy about it.

"Alright. And how was life like in New York?" The teacher asked.

"It was fun. And busy" she said shyly.

"Okay. Thank you. You can sit down now" he said and she sat back down looking a bit embarrassed.

"I hate that they make us talk" Bella told Gavin and the girl turned around and smiled. Bella smiled back shyly.

The class went on fine. During lunch break, Bella, Chloe and Gavin were sitting in the lounge close to the library sharing salsa and chips again when suddenly Rose walked in. When the girl saw they were there she quickly walked back out.

"Hey!" Bella called out but Rose kept walking away so Bella went after her. She didn't really know why she was doing that but the girl seemed shy.

"Rose?" She said and the girl turned around. "You can sit with us. It's alright" Bella said.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked shyly.

"Yeah. It's just us, nobody really comes here" Bella added.

Rose smiled shyly and followed back in.

"Hey" Gavin said as they walked in.

"Wanna share?" Chloe asked offering their chips and salsa.

"Sure" Rose said and put her lunch, French fries she had bought and a sandwich her mother had packed, down on the table. "We can share the fries if you want" she said.

"Thanks" Gavin said and grabbed one.

"So I'm Gavin by the way" Gavin smiled.

"I'm Chloe"

"And I'm Bella"

"Nice to meet you" she said shyly.

"So you moved from New York City?" Gavin said.

"Yes. 3 weeks ago" she said.

"And do you like DC?" Bella asked.

"Kind of" Rose said.

"I moved here just a little while ago too" Bella said. "The city is great. I think you'll like it" she added with a smile.

"How did you get in? Our class was already full" Chloe asked.

"My school actually transferred me here directly. I think they are sister schools or something" Rose said.

"Do you mind me asking why you moved?" Gavin said.

"My dad is in the army. He got transferred here so we had to move" Rose said.

"What does your mom do?" Gavin asked.

"Stays at home and watch tv" Rose said and the kids smiled. "Oh and shops a lot too." She added and they laughed. "How about your parents?" She asked.

"My mom stays at home too and my dad works with film and that kind of stuff" Gavin said.

"Cool" Rose said.

"My dad lives in Australia and my mom works at an office" Chloe said.

Isabella just sat there silent while everyone waited for her to talk.

"Bella?" Chloe said and Bella jumped. She was so concentrated thinking.

"Oh mine ummm.." She said. "My mom works at the BAU... I mean she works for the FBI." Bella said.

"Cool. She's an FBI agent?" Rose said.

"Yeah" Bella said with a little smile.

"What exactly she does?" Rose asked.

"She chase serial killers and work in some other cases too" Bella said.

"That's so cool" Rose said. "And what about your dad?" She asked.

"He's a surgeon." Bella said. "I mean was" she corrected herself.

"I'm sorry" Rose said feeling bad she even asked.

"It's alright" Bella said. In fact for the first time she felt okay talking about it. She couldn't help but miss him a lot but it wasn't like she couldn't even talk about him without feeling awful and crying anymore.

"So you said you moved here a little while ago" Rose said thinking she was changing the subject.

"Yeah. When my dad died" Bella said.

"Oh" Rose said feeling bad again.

"It's alright" Bella said. "I came to live with my mom." She said.

"I miss New York" Rose said.

"I used to live in New York too when I was little. It's weird moving around" Bella said.

"Yeah" Rose said. "My dad said this was the last time though."

"Cool" Chloe said.

"Yeah. DC is really cool" Bella said.

"If you like museums" Gavin said making a face.

"Oh come on. There's tons of things we can do" Chloe said.

"But I do like museums though" Rose said and they all laughed.

Suddenly the bell rang and they headed back to class.

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By the end of the last class the 4 kids were already like best friends. They even made plans to go to a museum sometime soon.

Bella and Chloe were excited to tell Hilary about the new friend. And of course Hilary couldn't be happier that both girls were making friends. They headed home and played around all afternoon. Around 6, Gavin's mother, Colette, called Hilary to invite them to her youngest soon second birthday party the next day. She apologized for Gavin not mentioning anything and said the boy simply forgot. Hilary said it was okay and that she would take the girls. Colette said Gavin had asked her to have a sleepover so she wanted to know if that was possible the next day. Hilary said she would talk to the girls and would let her know and that was what she did. Bella and Chloe said it was okay and Hilary told Bella to call Emily and ask so Bella did that and Emily said she could go so Hilary told Colette and the sleepover was settled. The girl's would go home with Gavin so they went to pack a bag.

"Chloe can you lend me some clothes? Penelope has the key" Bella said.

"Sure. You can pick whatever you want" Chloe said entering her closet. Bella followed her and they chose their outfits.

Chloe's pants and shirts were all too loose on Bella so she ended up choosing a blue dress that looked okay. It was still a bit loose but it was wearable. They packed their bags, had dinner and then headed to bed.

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 **(Tuesday)**

The girls were super excited to go to Gavin's house. His dad was in L.A so Colette only invited her brother-in-law, his wife and kids, and Gavin's friends for the party.

t school Gavin invited Ro to go, she called her mom and her mom said she would take her after school but she couldn't sleep there. The kids understood since Ro's mom didn't even know them.

On their way to Gavin's house they talked about the plans for the day.

They got to his home and thought the place was incredible; he had a pool and everything.

"Did you guys bring your swimsuits?" Colette asked.

"No" Bella and Chloe said in unison.

"I forgot to tell" Gavin said.

"Gavin!" Colette said laughing and the kids laughed too. "Well, I'm sure we can find you guys some clothes to go in" she said and they walked inside. They had some chips and then Gavin's uncle and aunt got there with their 3 kids. Gavin introduced the girls and then one of Gavin's friend from soccer arrived.

"Guys this is Michael" Gavin introduced and the girls shyly smiled.

Colette soon walked in with some clothes for them and they went to change.

.

"I look ridiculous" Bella said as she saw herself in the mirror. She had a pink shirt on that looked okay but the shorts looked like a bag of potatoes. Chloe couldn't help but laugh. The shorts were too big for Bella.

"Oh god" Colette said walking in.

"Don't you have another I can use?" Bella asked embarrassed.

"I think Avia's might fit you" Colette said and walked out. Avia was Gavin's 8 year old sister, who was already playing in the pool.

"Try this one" Colette said walking in after a while and handing blue sport shorts to Bella.

"Way better" Bella said smiling after she put it on.

The girl headed out to the pool. It wasn't long till Ro got there. Colette went to meet her mom, Mary. They talked a little bit and then Mary left.

They played all day long. They ate pizza then sang happy birthday around 5:30, ate cake and showered then sat to watch a movie. Mary stopped by to get Ro at 7:20 and Gavin's uncle and aunt went home with their kids leaving Colette alone with all of them.

"So do you guys have a bed time?" Colette asked as Gavin and Chloe played a game on the Xbox, and Michael played on the ds.

"Around 9:30, I guess" Chloe said.

"What about you?" Colette asked Bella as she sat next to the girl who was already looking sleepy.

"I don't really have one" Bella said.

"You don't?" Colette asked surprised. She thought Emily probably would give the girl a bedtime.

"No" Bella said.

"Do you want to go to bed? I can see you're a bit tired" Colette said and Bella shook her head no. "Okay, but whenever you want to sleep just tell me okay?" Colette said. "You can stay in Avia's room if they are being too loud here" Colette said.

"Okay" Bella said and went back to paying attention to the game.

It wasn't long till she fell asleep. The pool had worn her out, she was exhausted.

"Hey" Colette said running her hand on Isabella's back. The girl opened her eyes and looked embarrassed. "Let's go lay on the bed. Come on" she said and Bella stood up sleepy and followed her to Avia's bedroom. Colette led her to a mattress on the floor and tucked her in. "Goodnight Bella" she said.

"Goodnight" Bella whispered and it wasn't long till she was asleep again.

Chloe, Gavin and Michael played till around 10:30 and then Colette told them to go to bed because it was a school night. So Chloe headed to Avia's room and Michael and Gavin went to his.

It wasn't long till they fell asleep too.

Colette stayed up a bit later cleaning the mess the kids had made. Once done she went to check on them before going to bed too.

The boys were sleeping okay, but when she got to Avia's bedroom Isabella was awake and she had tears rolling down her face.

"Bella?" Colette said when she saw the girl. Bella looked at her and then hid her face. "What's wrong sweetie?" Colette whispered entering the room. Isabella just cried. "Come to the living room with me" Colette said touching Bella's head and the girl stood up and followed her. Colette sat down on the couch and Bella sat next to her still crying.

"What happened?" Colette asked and Bella just hugged her.

The girl wasn't sure of what to do. She wasn't so close to Colette, she had only seen the woman a couple times but she was scared.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Colette asked. She was a close friend of Hilary now and they sometimes talked about Isabella's situation. So Colette knew pretty much everything already.

"Uhum" Bella said nodding.

"Was it about your mom? Do you wanna call her?" Colette said not letting go of the girl.

"No. It was about my brother" Bella said.

"Are you scared of him coming to get you?" Colette asked.

"Yeah" Bella said and just cried. In the dream she was playing in the pool and out of nowhere Jeremy was there to take her and she fought him off but the police came and made her go with him. She woke up and couldn't help but cry, it just felt so real. She forgave him for what he had done but she was still scared, especially without her mom there.

Colette pulled the small girl to her lap and said "Oh honey he's not coming here. No one is coming here. You're safe. I won't let anyone get you"

Bella started calming a bit down but she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

"Bella, the judge said you're staying with your mom and now no one can change that. Your brother can't just come here and get you. I know you're scared, and it's okay to be after something like that but it's all good now sweetie"

"He doesn't know you live here does he?" Bella said letting go of the hug and crying.

"No honey he doesn't. I've never even met him" Colette said wiping Isabella's tears. "Do you want to stay on my bed with me?" She asked.

Isabella nodded yes shyly as tears kept streaming. Colette lifted her up and carried her to bed.

With her friend's mom by her side Bella finally relaxed. Colette was really nice and sweet and Bella really liked her. It didn't take very long for her to sleep.

Colette felt really bad for the girl but she was glad she managed the situation. When she saw Bella crying she really thought there was no way the girl would sleep there but she was wrong.

Bella slept the rest of the night just fine.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Colette woke up and smiled at Isabella's tight grip on her shirt. She woke the girl up and told her to wake the other kids while she prepared breakfast. Bella did what was told and then they got ready for school and ate breakfast, then they headed to school. Colette dropped the little kids off, because they went to a different school and then the three friends.

"Sorry for last night" Bella whispered to Colette as they hugged goodbye in front of the school.

"It's okay." Colette said smiling glad she was able to help the girl somehow.

They said their goodbyes and walked inside.

The day went great. School was fun and they were having fun with Rose. Gavin mentioned his friend Michael's parents were considering changing schools the next year so Michael would go to their class.

"That's cool. He was nice" Chloe said and everyone agreed.

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At lunch time Chloe asked if Bella was coming home with her. Bella felt her heart racing. She didn't really want to, so she said she wasn't sure and she would call Penelope to see. So she called and went away to talk in private. She told Penelope she wanted to stay with her and not Hilary.

"Okay, you can come to the office munchkin but aunt penny is gonna be working a lot" Penelope said feeling bad.

"It's okay. I don't mind" Bella said. She did mind but she just wanted to stay with her.

They said their goodbyes and Bella went to tell Chloe.

"She told me to go to the office today" Bella said.

"Maybe your mom's coming back" Chloe smiled.

"Maybe" Bella said, she knew Emily was not going back.

"Coming back from where?" Ro asked.

"She has to travel sometimes" Bella said.

"For how long?" Ro asked.

"Just a few days" Bella said. "But anyways... we should head to class the bell is about to ring" Bella said changing the subject and they walked to class.

The rest of the day went fine. She went to the BAU and went straight to Penelope's office.

"Hi my little tiny sugarplum" Penelope said giving Bella a big hug.

"How was at Gavin's?" She asked letting go of the hug.

"Good" Bella said with a smile. She was happy to be with Penelope again.

Penelope smiled and Bella put her bag on the couch.

"Look honey I'm reeeeealy busy today so you can stay here if you want but I can't talk all the time okay?" Penelope said.

"Okay. I have tons of homework anyways" Bella lied. she barely even had any.

"Alright. Make yourself at home" Penelope smiled and sat on her desk.

The day went by fast and Bella just did her homework and then watched movies on Penelope's iPad and read the rest of the day. Penelope had to stay the night in the office so Bella slept at Hotch's office because the couch was bigger. The girl was glad to be there, of course she rather stay home but she felt safe with Penelope,

she felt safe inside the BAU.


	59. Chapter 59: Tantrums

…

 **(Thursday)**

Penelope woke Bella up and the girl got ready for school quickly. Penelope dropped her off and went back to the BAU in a hurry.

School went fine.

At lunch Emily called Bella.

"Hello?" Bella said.

"Hi baby it's mom"

"Hi"

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked noticing Bella didn't sound very excited to hear her voice.

"Yup. Everything is fine." The girl said.

"I just called to tell you to go to Chloe's house, okay? I've talked to Hilary and she'll pick you guys up today" Emily said.

"Why can't I stay with Penelope?" Bella asked trying not to sound upset.

"Baby, she'll be really busy today. We're working nonstop to get this guy. You understand that right?" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said.

"Alright. I'll see you soon Bells" Emily said.

"Oh mom! I forgot to tell you!" Bella said as she saw Ro walking back in the lounge, she had gone to the bathroom. "I made a new friend" Bella said.

"You did?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yeah. Her name is Rose" Bella smiled as her new friend sat next to her.

"Well you should invite her over sometime. I want to meet her" Emily said. She had a big smile on her face. She was happy Bella was making friends. She knew the girl texted Cameron sometimes but they had lost their "connection". Bella didn't really talk about her anymore.

"I will" Bella said.

"I gotta go now but I'll see you soon" Emily said.

"Okay. Bye. I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily said. "Bye"

"Bye"

And they hung up. Emily walked out of the police station with JJ as the team had a new lead.

At school Bella ate lunch with her friends and even though she wanted to go stay with Penelope after a while she felt okay to go to Chloe's house.

"My mom said I'm going to your house" Bella told Chloe as they sat inside their classroom again.

"You are?" Chloe asked excited.

"Yes" Bella laughed.

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Later that day at Chloe's house, the girls were doing homework when the bell rang. It was almost 7 when Hilary opened the door and Emily was standing there.

"Hi" Emily said. "I came to pick her up" she added.

Isabella heard her mother's voice and ran to the door.

"Mom!" The girl said running to Emily's arms. She missed her. Emily gave her a big hug.

"Let's go home?" Emily said.

"Yes" Bella smiled. "Let me get my things" the girl said and ran to get her stuff.

 **.**

They walked inside the apartment and Bella actually missed that place too. She put her bag on the floor behind the couch and sat on the couch. Emily sat next to her looking exhausted.

"Hard case?" Bella asked laying her head on Emily's lap.

"Yeah" Emily said taking a deep breath. It had been a long week.

They sat there silently for a while and then Emily said "I must shower" and Bella sat up and Emily went upstairs.

Bella was relieved her mom was there, she had pretty much been scared all week. She wasn't sure if she was scared of Emily getting hurt or of her being away a long time. She didn't know. She just didn't feel very good whenever Emily went away on a case. She thought she would be used to it by now but she wasn't.

Emily went to shower and Bella decided to do the same. Bella got ready for bed and laid on Emily's bed. The girl just felt safe and like she could finally relax. She knew her mom was right there.

When Emily walked out of the bathroom she found the girl asleep squeezing her blanket. It was a little over 8.

She covered Bella up and went to get something to eat in the kitchen. Then she brushed her teeth and laid next to Bella. It was early but she was exhausted.

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 **(Friday)**

Emily woke up with the alarm clock very loud in the nightstand. She turned the noise off and woke Bella.

"Hey. Bella wake up" she sang, running her fingers through Bella's hair and the girl moved on the bed.

"Hi" Emily said as Bella opened her eyes.

The girl moved closer to Emily and threw one arm over her mother's waist.

"Come on honey, you have to go get ready or you'll be late" Emily said and Bella looked at her right in the eyes.

Emily kissed the girl's forehead. "Come on" she said and Bella sat up still a bit sleepy.

"I'll pick you up at school, alright? We'll stay here today and not in the office." Emily said.

"You're staying home today?" Bella asked.

"Yeah I'll work on the paperwork from home" Emily said.

"You will?... I wanna stay with you" Bella said.

"Oh baby you can't miss school" Emily said and Bella just looked sad. "We've talked about this, haven't we?" Emily said and suddenly Bella just let her tears fall. She wanted to stay home with her mother. "Bella, honey" Emily said. She felt bad but she knew that if she allowed the girl to stay home they could go down a few steps.

"I don't wanna go" Bella said laying back down close to Emily.

"No. We talked about this and you are going to school." Emily said.

"I'll go next week mommy. It's just one day" Bella cried.

"No. School is not negotiable. Come on" Emily said trying to make Bella sit up on the bed but the girl pushed her away.

"Honey, we'll be together the entire weekend. You'll be aaaaaall day with me." Emily said.

"I miss you" Bella said sitting up and hugging her mom.

"I know you do" Emily said feeling bad. She pulled the girl to her lap. "Look, go get ready and go to school and I'll find something very fun for us to do afterwards" Emily said with a small smile.

"Okay?" She asked the girl.

"Okay" Bella said still crying.

Emily wiped the girl's face and said "now go" and Bella went to her bedroom. She decided to shower since she cried and her face was super red. She walked downstairs afterwards with a very wet hair.

"Do you want help?" Emily asked as Bella brushed her hair. The girl shook her head no and sat on a stool.

"You're getting your uniform all wet" Emily said noticing Isabella's back was wet. She got a towel and put on the girl's back.

"Let me do it while you eat" she said and Bella handed her the brush. She combed the girl's hair and did a half up.

"Oh you know what I was thinking?" Emily said.

"What?" Bella said not very excited.

"You said we should go to the pool more often so I thought maybe you could invite your new friend over tomorrow. Maybe Chloe and Gavin too?" Emily said with a smile.

"I'll tell them to come around 3" Bella said.

"Why so late?" Emily asked a little confused.

"I wanna stay with you" Bella said shyly.

Emily hugged her. "Good idea" she smiled and kissed the girl's cheek.

They finished eating and headed to the school.

Emily dropped Bella off and headed back home. She was still exhausted so she headed back to bed. She slept for a while and then worked on some paperwork.

At school Bella told her friends about them going to her house and they said they would ask their parents. After lunch everyone had confirmed they would go.

.

When the last bell rang and they walked out of school Bella smiled big as she saw Emily's car.

"Bye guys" she told her friends and ran to the car.

"How was your day?" Emily asked as Bella sat.

"Fine" Bella said and gave her mom a hug.

"Buckle up" Emily said.

"So what are we doing now?" Bella asked.

"How about park and then mall?" Emily smiled.

"Sure" Bella said with a small smile.

And they headed off.

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At the park they walked around for a while, holding hands as always. Bella was happy to have Emily back.

After some walking they spotted the bench close to the lake.

"Can we sit there?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled and they walked to the bench.

"Feels weird coming back here" Bella said staring at the lake.

Emily smiled. "It does" she said.

They sat in silence for a while till Bella said "I'm sorry I ran away mom. That was really dumb"

Emily let out a laugh and threw her arm over Isabella's shoulder.

They just sat there till suddenly Emily's phone started ringing. She smiled staring at Penelope's picture.

Isabella kept repeating on her head "please not a case, please not a case"

"Hello?" Emily said.

"Hi! It's me! Well, I'm at JJ's house and we're heading to the mall. Wanna come too? Bring your minion" Penelope said.

"Sure. We were actually going there later" Emily smiled.

"Alright then. We'll meet in front of Macy's, okay?"

"Okay" Emily agreed and hung up.

"What did she want?" Bella asked.

"We're meeting her and JJ at the mall" Emily smiled and put a lock of hair behind Bella's ear. "Let's go?" She said and Bella looked relieved. Emily smiled as she noticed it. They got up and Emily grabbed Bella's hand.

"Can we come here tomorrow? Before my friends arrive" Bella asked with a smile.

"Of course we can" Emily said pulling Bella closer to her and throwing her arm around the girl's shoulders.

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At the mall they met JJ and Penelope and everything was going great till they we're done eating.

They were sitting in the food court eating and talking when suddenly JJ's phone rang.

She answered but she couldn't quite hear because Penelope and Bella were talking a lot about a doctor who episode.

"But i just knew that would happen" Penelope said.

"Yeah right" Bella said.

"I'm serious. Look there was the-" Penelope said but JJ cut her off.

"Guys" she said making a face and they shut up.

"You can talk now" JJ said. She listened for a while and then said "in L.A?" and listened some more... "We'll meet you in the airport Hotch" she said making a face to Emily.

In her mind all Bella could think was "no. Not again. She just got back. Please don't leave again. Not another case."

JJ hung up and explained herself. "There were five bodies found this morning."

"Five?" Penelope asked in disbelief.

"We got called in" JJ said. "It's urgent" she added.

As she explained, Isabella fought hard not to start crying. She didn't want Emily to go away again. She sat there silent looking down at the table.

"So let's go?" Penelope said grabbing her bags. She had bought some stuff.

Everyone got up but Bella just sat there.

"Let's go honey" Emily said but Bella didn't move.

"Come on, you can stay with me. We can watch the new movie we got" Penelope said smiling but Bella just got up and hugged Emily.

"Bella" Emily said as the girl bursted into tears.

"I don't want you to go" Isabella cried and Emily picked her up.

"Honey. You're a big girl now you understand I have to work" Emily said.

"No" Bella cried.

People in the mall were starting to look at them.

"Bella, don't do this. You're a big girl. Come on we're in the mall" Emily said.

"I don't care" Bella yelled and cried.

"You can stay at my house with Henry if you want to, honey" JJ said trying to help.

"Or at Chloe's" Emily said.

"No. I wanna go home" Bella cried.

"Bella" Emily said.

"I wanna go home" Bella yelled.

Emily was torn of what to do so she went with her gut. She couldn't allow Bella to throw a tantrum in the middle of the mall.

She put the girl down.

"Bella look at me" she said but Bella wouldn't let go of her and kept hiding her face in Emily's belly. "Look, you are not 5 years old anymore. You're a big girl. And you know I have to work. You can choose what you want to do now but I'm going to work. So you can either go with Penelope to the office or you can stay with Will or Hilary" Emily said.

"I wanna stay with you" Bella said between her teeth.

"That's not an option Bella. What do you want to do?" Emily asked keeping her patient.

Isabella yelled "you're just like before" and pushed Emily away and just sprint to the exit nearby.

Emily couldn't believe it. Before John died the kid rarely ever even cried and now she was throwing a tantrum in the middle of a shopping mall.

Emily ran after her and before she could walk out of the mall Emily grabbed her arm, making her turn around.

"Stop this" Emily said firmly. She let go of Isabella's arm and said "Are you going to choose what you want to do or am I choosing for you?"

Penelope and JJ walked to them, both in shock. JJ carried Emily's bags.

Bella stood there crying and didn't say anything.

"Em" JJ said. They really had to go. The team was waiting for them.

"What is it gonna be?" Emily asked Bella firmly.

"I want to stay with Will" Bella said crying.

"Okay" Emily said grabbing her hand firmly and walked to the car. Bella walked a step behind with tears streaming down her face. When they got to the car Bella got in the back.

"Emily we gotta go so come with me and Penelope can take Bella to my house" JJ said. Emily looked at Bella who was sitting in the other side, far away from where she was standing.

"Okay" Emily said handing her key to Penelope, who got it and got in the car.

"Bye honey. I'll see you soon" Emily said and Isabella just looked away still crying.

"Bye Garcia" Emily said and Emily got inside JJ's car and they drove away, in different directions.

Emily felt bad but she felt she did the right thing.

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After driving for a while with complete silence, the silence was broken by Isabella talking. "Aunt Penny, can you stop at my house?" She said still crying.

"Of course I can bunny" Penelope said. She felt really horrible about the situation.

She drove to Emily's apartment and allowed Bella to back a bag. The girl went to her bathroom and washed her face and then went around the place and packed some clothes and her school clothes just in case, her binder, a book, her ipad, Duffy and of course her blanket. She walked to the living room, where Penelope was waiting, with a full backpack.

"All done?" Penelope asked and Bella nodded. So they headed to Will's.

When they got there JJ had already called and explained everything that happened. Will was okay with watching Bella, and Henry was super excited when he saw Isabella walking inside.

"Hiiiiiii" the boy came running to the girl. They hugged. Then Henry hugged Penelope.

"Hi pretty boy" Penelope said smiling.

"Alright. So go play guys." Will said and Bella followed Henry to the living room. "Oh Bella and you have the guest room" he smiled but the girl stayed serious.

"Did JJ tell you what exactly happened?" Penelope asked making a face.

"Tantrum at the mall? Yeah" Will said.

"She seems okay now but if you need just call. " Penelope said.

"Okay" Will said.

"Bye Bella" Penelope said but nothing was heard.

"She'll be okay" Will said as he noticed Penelope's sad face.

"Yeah" Penelope said.

"Bye" Will said.

"Bye. Anything call. Don't forget. Just call anything. Anytime" she said walking to the car.

"Okay." Will laughed.

Penelope drove away and he went inside.

He found Bella and Henry putting a movie on.

"He wants to watch 'Toy Story'. Is that okay?" Bella said as she saw Will standing there staring.

"Of course" Will said with a smile. "I'll make popcorn" he said and went to the kitchen.

The kids started watching the movie and it wasn't long till Will sat on the couch with the popcorn. Both kids, who were sitting on the floor, sat next to him, one in each side and ate popcorn while watching the movie.

They watched movies and played with Henry's toys all day.

Everything was going way better then Will had expected.

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Emily sat on the plane and couldn't help but wonder if Isabella was alright. She really felt bad for having to work again but she thought the girl's behavior was unacceptable.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked taking the seat next to Emily.

"Yeah" Emily said with a 'sorry' smile.

"Why? What happened?" Derek asked sitting in front of Emily.

"Bella threw a fit in the mall when we had to come." Emily said.

"She what?" Morgan asked surprised. "In the mall? In front of people?" He asked.

"Yes. In the food court" Emily said.

"Is she alright now?" Hotch asked walking to sit next to Derek.

"She's with Will. So probably playing with Henry. She'll be fine" Emily said.

"We actually have been working too much in the last couple weeks." Rossi said.

"Yeah" Morgan said. "I have slept on my bed maybe like two days in three weeks" he said.

"Well that's just usual you" JJ joked and everyone laughed.

"I know what you mean Morgan. We are packed" Rossi said.

Suddenly Penelope was in the computer.

"Hello my beautiful people. Buckle up cause things might get crazy..." She started.

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The team got in L.A and Emily went to the crime scene with Hotch and Derek. After they walked around they headed to the station.

"Jack is having a hard time this week too." Hotch said serious.

Emily thought it was curios he was actually sharing that.

"He's asking a lot why I travel so much. And it doesn't matter how many times or how many different ways I explain he always asks again" he said.

"Bella used to be like that" Emily said. She remembered how Bella used to always want to hear stories from her work when she was younger. She smiled at those thoughts but soon she felt sad.

As she remembered the first time Bella cried when she had to leave.

* * *

 ***** 8 years ago…**

Friday, New York City, USA.

Bella was just 3 years old and Emily hadn't seen her in four months, she called Bella but she hadn't seen the girl in a long time, When she walked inside John's apartment to surprise her daughter who was watching cartoons with Jeremy, both still in their pajamas.

"Hello" Emily said.

Bella looked at the couch and smiled big as she saw Emily standing behind it. Emily smiled big at how adorable and beautiful Isabella was. The girl had white pajamas pants with pink polka dots on, a long sleeved shirt with Minnie Mouse on it and had her dark hair up in pigtails.

"Come here pumpkin" Emily said smiling and Bella ran to her. She lifted the little girl up and hugged her tight.

"Mommy" Bella said tightening her arms around her mother's neck.

Emily put her down and the girl had a big smile on her face.

That smile lasted all weekend.

But on Sunday, around 8, Emily had to leave and Bella was not happy about it. After Emily got Bella ready for bed, she and John explained that she had to go back to work but she would come back soon. But nothing they were saying helped.

"No. No" the girl said hugging Emily's leg tight and crying. Emily scooped her up and the little girl just sobbed.

"Oh baby. Mommy will come back soon. I promise" Emily said.

"You out for a long time" little Isabella cried.

"I know but this time I'll come very very soon" Emily promised.

"No mommy" Bella cried.

"Come here" John said and went to pick her up but she started screaming.

"No! I want mommy! I wanna stay mommy" the little girl cried.

Emily's eyes filled with tears. Isabella had never cried like that before because of Emily having to go.

Emily sat on the couch with the girl.

"Look baby. I promise that I'll come back in just a few days. You stay with daddy and It will go by super-fast and I'll back and we can have ice cream and we'll play all day again." She said.

"No" Bella said and just sobbed.

"You're gonna miss your flight" Jeremy said walking inside the room.

Emily looked at the clock and she really had to go. She could not miss her flight.

She looked at John's face as he just knew.

He grabbed Bella and the girl tightened her little arms around Emily's neck. She felt horrible but she took the girl's hands off of her and John just held Bella away.

"No!" Bella screamed now sounding angry.

"I love you Bells. I'll be back soon" Emily said as tears started rolling down her own face.

"No! Mommy! No! Don't leave" Bella screamed as Emily went to the door.

The little girl was throwing a big fit with sobs and screams.

"Come here" Jeremy said and took Bella from John. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let's watch a movie huh? Your mom will be back soon. Don't worry" he said and sat on the couch with the little girl crying in his arms. "Look Bellie! It's Cinderella! Let's watch" he said but the girl stayed crying and hugging him.

"mommy" the little girl cried.

"Oh look! There's Ella" he said and Isabella shyly looked at the tv.

"Do you wanna watch that?" He asked.

"I want mommy" the girl said.

"She'll come back soon" he said hugging the little girl. John sat beside them to watch the movie too and Bella wanted him.

"Daddy" she said and John picked her up. The way her bottom lip was, was killing him.

"Mommy will be back soon baby" he said covering Bella up with a blanket that was on the couch. The little girl snuggled up and kept crying a little till she fell asleep.

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* * *

 *****Back in the "present" time...**

"Jack is having a hard time this week too." Hotch said serious.

Emily thought it was curios he was actually sharing that.

"He's asking a lot why I travel so much. And it doesn't matter how many times or how many different ways I explain he always asks again" he said.

"Bella used to be like that" Emily said. She remembered how Bella used to always want to hear stories from her work when she was younger. She smiled at those thoughts but soon she felt sad, as she remembered the first time Bella cried when she had to leave. She felt broken as she saw a lot of that scared little 3 year-old on her 11 year-old. But with that she also knew that Isabella would be alright. The girl cried a couple times when she was little and didn't want mom to leave but she would always be okay after a while. She knew it was hard for Bella but she knew that the kid would be alright.

Or at least she wanted to believe she would.

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Later at night Emily called Will to see how Bella was doing.

"She's asleep already" he said. It was 8:34.

"This early?" Emily asked surprised.

"She fell asleep watching a movie with Henry" Will said. "Both fell asleep." He laughed.

"Good" Emily let out a little laugh and said.

"We're heading to the hotel right now so anything just call" Emily said.

"Okay." He said. "Can I talk to Jennifer?" He asked.

"Oh sure. She's right here" Emily said and handed her phone to JJ. They talked for a while and then hung up.

"Glad she's asleep already?" JJ asked Emily.

Emily gave her a small smile.

"Don't worry she'll be alright" JJ said.

"I know" Emily said.

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It was almost midnight when Will went to check on the kids before heading to his bedroom. Henry was fast asleep but when he walked inside the guest room Isabella was crying and hugging her bear, Duffy.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Will said walking inside.

Bella stayed there crying and didn't say a word.

"Do you want to sleep in Henry's bedroom again?" Will asked and Bella nodded yes rapidly. "Alright. Come with me. Let's get a bed ready" he said handing out a hand. The girl got out of bed and instead of taking his hand she hugged him.

"Your mama is okay" he told her and she cried even more. He picked her up.

"I want Penelope" Bella said.

"Okay. Let's go call her" Will said.

"No. I wanna go stay with her" Bella cried.

"I know but we have to call and see where she is. It's almost midnight already" he said putting her down.

He took her hand and they walked to the kitchen. Will got the home phone and called Garcia.

.

Garcia was coming out of the shower when she heard her phone ringing. She had just got home about 30 minutes earlier.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hello, it's Will" he said.

"Oh hi! Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Isabella wants to stay with you" he said. "Is there any way you can come get her? Henry is asleep so.." He said.

"Oh sure sure. I'll be there In a couple minutes." Penelope said already hurrying to get dressed.

"Okay." Will said giving Bella a smile.

"Tell her I'll be right there" Garcia said and hung up. She got ready super-fast. She just put her pajamas on and headed to the car.

.

At Will's house he told Bella to get her things ready to go because Penelope was coming to pick her up.

"Sorry for wanting to go" Bella said embarrassed.

"Sweetheart that's okay" Will said and Bella went to get ready.

She put everything on her bag and sat on the bed waiting for Penelope.

Not very long after Bella was done, Penelope rang the bell.

"Come in" Will said laughing as he noticed her hair was wet and tangled and she was wearing pajamas.

"Where's she?" Penelope said and he took her to the guest room. When Bella saw her she ran to her arms. She still had tears streaming down her face.

"Hi monkey. I'm here. Aunt Penny is here" Penelope said hugging her and giving her a bunch of kisses. "Let's go?" She asked letting go of the girl and Bella nodded yes. She got her backpack and said goodbye to Will and they were out.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked as Isabella buckled up.

Bella shook her head no.

Penelope didn't really know what to say so she just wrapped the girl in her arms.

She let go of the hug and drove home.

When they got there Bella went straight to Penelope's room.

"Make yourself at home little tiny" Penelope said and Bella stayed quiet. She put her bag next to the bed, got her blanket and Duffy and laid down on the bed and hugged them. Penelope walked over to the side where Bella was and tucked her in.

"Sweet dreams" Penelope said placing a kiss on Isabella's head. The girl closed her eyes and Penelope turned the light off and went to the bathroom to brush her hair.

When she walked out Bella was still awake staring at her. Penelope laid next to the girl and Bella moved closer to her hiding her face on the woman's belly.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked.

"No and I don't wanna talk about it" Bella said. The main reason she said she wanted to go to Will's house was because she knew he wouldn't talk about what happened.

"Okay" Penelope said tightening the hug. "We don't have to talk about that"

"Good" Bella said.

They stayed hugging silently till they were out.

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 **(Saturday)**

Penelope woke up at 7 and got ready to work, she had to be in the bureau at 8. She was ready to go when she woke Bella up at 7:40.

"Hey let's go bunny. I have to go to work. You're coming with me" she told Bella as the girl stretched. "Let's go. We're leaving. Go put your shoes on"

"I need to change my clothes" Bella said.

"No it's okay. You can wear pajamas it's fine. Just get your coat on and your shoes."

"What?" Bella said.

"Come on. I packed that navy dress you brought and black tights. You can change when we get there" Penelope said holding one of her bags with Isabella's things on it.

Bella got up, got her blanket and Duffy, put them on the bag Penelope had for her, put her shoes and coat on and they headed out. Penelope went thru the McDonald's drive-thru and got breakfast for them and then went to the office.

Bella spent the entire day there with Garcia. She stayed on the couch at Penelope's office, having a doctor who marathon in her pajamas all day while the older woman worked.

Around 7, Emily called.

"Hi baby" she said.

"Hi" Bella said not sounding excited at all to be talking to her.

"Will told me you asked to stay with Penelope. What happened?" Emily asked hurt about the way the girl was acting.

"Nothing. I just wanted to" Bella said serious.

There was a bit of silence since both weren't sure of what to say next.

But then Emily said "I'm sorry I had to go on another case so soon"

"Whatever" Bella said.

"It's not whatever honey. I know you're upset."

"Of course I am. I barely even saw you in the last two weeks. You're working more than you're staying with me mom." Bella said sounding a bit angry and upset.

"I'll be home soon" Emily said.

"Sure you are" Bella said and hung up.

Emily sat at the LA police station speechless. The girl hung up.

In Quantico, Bella just put the phone away and went back to watching her show.

Emily called Penelope.

"She just hung up the phone while we were talking so just keep an extra eye on her. Make sure she's alright" Emily said.

"Of course. Don't worry" Penelope said.

The rest of the night went fine.

They headed home around 9 and were both exhausted. Bella showered first and then Penelope did. When Penelope got out of the bathroom Bella was asleep hugging her Duffy and her blanket while 'Finding Neverland' played on the tv. Penelope smiled. She thought things were going better. The girl was very quiet, quieter than normal but at least she wasn't crying. She laid next to the girl and watched the movie. Once it was done she was very tired so she turned it off and tried to sleep.

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 **(Sunday)**

Around 2am Bella sat on the bed. She had had a terrible nightmare. She was at the park with Penelope and Emily and people started shooting close by and Emily told her and Penelope to lay on the floor, they did that and Emily ran to the shooters with her gun but they shot her multiple times and she just fell on the ground.

Bella sat on the bed with tears streaming down her face as she couldn't get that image out of her head.

Penelope woke up as she heard crying. She saw the girl sitting up and crying and just sat and hugged Bella.

"It's okay baby. Penny is here. Aunt Penny is here." Penelope said hugging the girl.

They stayed silent for a moment and then Penelope asked letting go of the girl "do you want to call your mama?"

"No" Bella said sounding a little angry.

"Hey don't be mad at her, Bellie. She's just working and she'll be back soon"

"She's always working. Just like before" Bella said.

"Before what?" Penelope asked a bit confused.

"When my dad was alive. She would say 'it's just for a couple days baby' and then she would take forever to go see me." Bella said changing her voice when she said 'it's just for a couple days baby'

"It's different now Bella. She has the team with her and she's away for just a few days and then she's back. And while she's away you can stay with me and have fun"

"It's not different" Bella said still crying.

"Yes it is, sugar" Penelope said putting a lock of hair behind the girl's ear.

"I just don't understand why SHE has to go. Why can't they just send someone else? Why does it need to be her to do it?" Bella asked crying barely able to say all the words.

"Oh sugarplum. Come here" Penelope said wrapping the girl in her arms and laying down taking Bella with her.

"Your mama has to go because she's special" Penelope said.

"No. She's not. She's just my mom" Bella said.

"Bella, do you know that every X-men has something special and that they are very very good at? The team is like that Bellie. Each one of them has something special that they can do and when they all go a case together it's like they're combining it all so they can fight the bad guys." Penelope said and noticed Bella was calming down as she payed attention so she kept going. "Your mama is very very veeeeery special. She knows things that very few people in the world know and she decided to help the team with what she has. And you know you don't have to worry about her getting hurt baby. I know it's scary but they don't just go and chose a random person to do this job. They are selected very carefully and they are trained and everything. I know that in your little head you don't know how to get away from a situation you think they might face. Like if there's someone with a gun close by. You don't know how to deal with that but they are trained for those situations. They know what to do. And they have each other's back, just like the x-men"

"My mom got shot that time" Bella said. She wasn't sobbing but still had a couple tears falling.

"But she got better super-fast. Didn't she?" Penelope said and Bella nodded yes.

Penelope tightened the hug. "Look I think you've been through so much in the last few months. And it's just a lot for your little head to process. And I can see that you just want your mommy by your side but you need to know that what she does is very brave and it's to help us. Help me, and your friends and you. Help all of us." Penelope said. "She will always be your mommy first Bella. You know that even though sometimes she's away you can call her anytime. She'll come back. And while she's traveling you've got me. You like me, don't you?" Penelope said.

Bella nodded yes.

"Do you trust me?" Penelope asked.

Bella nodded yes.

"No, I wanna hear it" Penelope said.

"Yes I do" Bella said.

"So trust me when I say that she'll be okay." Penelope said.

Bella wasn't crying anymore.

"And you have this really cool aunt here that loves you more than she loves anyone else alive in this big blue planet" Penelope said hugging Bella tight.

The little girl couldn't help but smile.

"I love you too" Bella said.

Penelope smiled and they kept hugging till they fell back asleep.

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Just like the day before, Penelope let Bella sleep till the last minute. When she went to wake the girl up Bella pulled her to the bed. Penelope hugged her.

"Aunt penny, is my mom really that special? Like the x-men?" Bella asked. Her voice so sweet that made Penelope smile big.

"She's so SOOO special." Penelope said. "I think I'd be very scared if the team wasn't out there doing what they do" Penelope added.

Bella snuggled up to her and Garcia ran her fingers through the girl's hair.

"Your mom has saved a lot of people Bella. That's something to be very proud of" Penelope said.

They were silent for some time and then Penelope said they should go or she would be late so they headed to the office.

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Again the day went okay. Bella finished the season of Doctor who she was watching and then started watching That 70's Show again. She spent the entire day watching that. They headed to Penelope's house around 10. Bella did her homework really fast, had dinner and then got ready for bed.

Penelope got a call from Emily because Isabella wasn't answering her phone.

"Is she asleep? She's not answering me" Emily asked worried.

"She's watching a movie in my room. Don't worry she'll be okay" Penelope said.

"She's not talking to me now?" Emily said.

"Look Em. I think she's scared of the possibly of all of this being like before. Before John died. She was upset telling me how you're away a lot and I think it's not really what's going on right now that's making her upset but what could happen in the future. She's just scared you're going to be always away. Like the last couple weeks. It's hard. For you and the team and of course for her too. She's been through a lot and it's expected for her to be upset. You just have to give her some time to adjust and make sure she knows it won't be like before. Because I think that's the real reason she's so scared." Penelope said.

"I know" was all Emily could say. "Anything just call" she said.

"Okay" Penelope said.

"Goodnight and hug her for me" Emily said.

"I will. Goodnight" Garcia said and they hung up.

Penelope walked to her room and sat on the bed. She hugged Bella and said "your mom sent the hug" and laid down. Bella gave her a small smile but it was enough to make Penelope happy. They moved closer together and watched the movie till both fell asleep.

Bella woke up a few times but decided not to wake Penelope. She knew the woman was working a lot and was probably very tired. So she just started at the wall or at something else till she fell back asleep. She wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling about Emily's work. She did thought it was amazing and brave, and she was very proud but at the same time she just wanted Emily by her side.

All she knew for sure was that she didn't want it to be like before.


	60. Chapter 60: Sorry

…

 **(Monday)**

Penelope woke Bella up to go to school and the girl was just exhausted from the night she had had.

They sat to eat breakfast and Bella was almost asleep again.

"Did you sleep okay monkey?" Penelope asked.

"Yup" Bella lied. She just didn't want to talk about it.

They finished eating and headed out. Penelope dropped Bella off and headed to work.

"Look who's here." One of those bullies said as Bella walked to the big steps in front of the school.

"I'm glad you're back shrimpy" Vanessa said.

"Was it hard having to stay with your bro?" One of them asked getting closer to Bella.

"I'm sorry mommy couldn't be there" Vanessa said and Bella just swallowed. "Like usual" the girl added and Bella just ran away.

 **.**

"Hey" Chloe said as Bella walked inside the classroom. Rose was sitting on the front, at the very first desk where Bella used to sit. So Bella sat behind the girl.

She sat quietly and got her binder out.

"Hey. What's up? You're not talking to us anymore?" Gavin said.

"Can I sit there Ro?" Bella asked a bit down.

"I really like seating here Bella" Rose said.

"Please I'm not feeling very good. Just today. You can sit there whenever" Bella said.

"Okay" Rose said. She took her things and changed seats with Bella.

"Bella, seriously what's up?" Gavin said but the teacher started the class and he had to be quiet.

Isabella didn't say a word during the first class. Her friends were getting worried.

"Hey. What's going on?" Chloe said sitting next to Bella on her seat as the teacher walked outside.

"Nothing" Bella said.

"I know you and I know it's not nothing" Chloe said. "You can tell me. I won't tell them" she added.

"It's nothing" Bella said as her eyes teared up.

"Bella" Chloe said feeling bad as she saw Isabella was about to cry.

Suddenly the teacher walked in. Chloe went back to her seat and Isabella pushed her tears away.

When the recess bell rang Isabella quickly left the classroom without even waiting for her friends.

"I'll go talk to her" Chloe said walking out fast.

She followed Bella to the bathroom.

Isabella got inside the bathroom close to their classroom which she knew no one really used during recess and lunch.

She felt her head pounding. She sat on a closed toilet and closed the door.

Suddenly Chloe walked in.

"Bella?" She called but Isabella stayed quiet.

"Bella I know you're here" Chloe said and Bella opened the door.

"What happened?" Chloe asked really worried as she saw the amount of tears streaming down Isabella's face.

"I wanna go home" Bella said.

Chloe hugged her and Bella just broke down.

After Bella started calming down, Chloe asked "was it those stupid girls again? They came up to Ro and me today" Chloe said and Bella nodded yes.

"What did they tell you?" Chloe asked.

"They just... They talked about my brother and my mom. They said my mom is never here" Bella cried.

"Don't listen to them Bella. You know that's not true" Chloe said.

"But it is... She's not here, is she?" Bella said.

"Bella she's working and that's what parents do. I bet their parents are like that too" Chloe said.

"Your mom aren't" Bella said.

"Sometimes she is" Chloe said. "Sometimes she stays working late and sometimes she brings so much work home that she barely even talks to Millie and I" Chloe said.

"I barely saw my mom this week" Bella said.

"I know. My mom told me the play date was canceled because your mom had to work. But you know it won't be always like that" Chloe said.

Suddenly Ro walked in.

Bella saw her and tried closing the door again but Chloe was on the way.

"Bella stop" Chloe said as Bella tried pushing her out.

"Get out. Leave me alone" Bella told them.

"I'm sorry" Ro said confused.

"Get out. I wanna be alone" Bella said crying.

"No you don't." Chloe said and hugged Bella and Bella stopped fighting and just cried again.

"Why is she crying?" Rose asked.

"Her mom traveled on a case and those stupid girls bullied her" Chloe said.

"Gavin invited us over to his house today, he told me to come tell you guys so you can ask your parents. Why don't we all go? I think it could help forget about those girls" Rose suggested.

Bella nodded no.

"Come on Bell. It might help" Chloe said and Bella let go of the hug.

"We can do our homework together and go to the pool and play games. It's gonna be fun" Ro said.

"Please" Chloe said.

"Okay" Bella said and wiped her face.

"Go wash you face" Chloe said and Bella did that.

"I'm gonna stay in the classroom" Bella said.

"Okay. We'll stay with you" Rose said and they went there. They just sat and no one said a word. After a while the bell rang and another class started. Bella was quiet but she would talk whenever anyone asked her something. During lunch break she was still down but a bit better. They ate at the lounge close to the library and luckily didn't have any problems.

As they walked back to the classroom Gavin got a call from his mom. She asked how many people were going to their place and Gavin said 4 plus him. So Colette suggested everyone going directly to their house and she would order pizza. So Gavin told everyone and they called their parents to ask. Bella called Garcia and of course the woman said it was okay but just to make sure Penelope called Colette to confirm.

So later that day, they all headed to Gavin's house. Bella was more excited and was talking more even though they could see she was not in her normal state of being.

But the day went great though.

They did their homework then played video games and Colette lend them clothes so they could go to the pool. Rose's mother, Mary, picked her up around 7. Hilary picked Chloe and Bella up at 7:30.

"Did you guys have a good day?" Hilary asked.

"Yeah" Chloe said but Bella stayed quiet.

"How about you Bella?" Hilary asked.

"Yes sure" Bella said with a small smile. Hilary knew something was up.

She dropped Bella at the office and went home.

"Hi" Penelope said as Bella walked in.

The girl walked to the woman and hugged her. She needed that hug since that horrible morning.

"Did you have fun?" Penelope asked letting go of the hug.

Bella nodded yes but didn't look very happy.

"Did something happen munchkin? Why the sad face?" Garcia asked.

"Those girls at school... Talked about mom today" Bella said honestly as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh monkey" Penelope said feeling bad and wrapped her arms around Bella again.

"Chloe said what they said isn't true but it actually is this time" Bella said now crying.

"Let's go to my office. Come on" Penelope said as she noticed a few agents looking.

She grabbed Bella's hand and went to her lair and sat on the couch and pulled the girl to her lap.

"What exactly did they say?" She asked.

"They asked if it was hard staying with Jeremy and they said they were sorry mom wasn't there" Bella said crying. "And they said 'like usual' ... They know she's not here"

"Oh monkey. You can't listen to those girls. They don't know anything. And Bella they very likely barely even talk to their parents. They are just jealous because they know how you and your friends are loved and have fun all the time together. They probably don't have that, that's why they say all this things. They feel better if you guys are feeling bad and that's not right" Penelope said.

"You really think they are jealous?" Bella asked.

"Have you ever seen them having fun together?" Garcia asked.

"Not really" Bella said.

"How about their parents? Have you ever even seen them?"

"No" Bella said.

"See. They're jealous because you guys are awesome" Penelope said and tickled Bella. The girl smiled.

"Don't listen to them, okay?" Garcia said and Bella nodded yes. "I'm serious. Try your best not listen to what they say." Penelope said.

"Okay" Bella said.

They rest of the day went okay.

They stayed in the office till 11, Penelope working while Bella watched 'That 70's Show' on Penelope's iPad. Bella fell asleep around 10 and at 11 Penelope woke her up so they could go to Penelope's house. When they got there Bella was asleep again so Garcia woke her up and the girl walked to the bed and laid down wearing her uniform and just fell asleep. Penelope took the child's shoes off and covered her up. She showered and then laid next to sleeping Bella. Luckily the night went great.

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The next two days were alright.

Bella woke up Tuesday morning and found Penelope changing. She couldn't help but laugh as she noticed she had her uniforms on.

"What do I do know?" She asked Penelope.

"I'll iron it for you. Come on quick" Garcia said and did just that. Then they ate breakfast and headed out.

The day went okay even though at lunch those girls bullied Bella again as she went to the bathroom with Chloe.

"I saw your group got bigger. The New Yorker fits right in." One girl, Gail, said.

"As weird as they come" another girl, Yuna, said and they laughed. Chloe and Bella took a few steps ignoring them and suddenly Vanessa said "say hi to your mama for me... Oh yeah she's not here again"

Chloe froze but Isabella remembered what Garcia told her so she grabbed Chloe's arm and kept walking.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked a bit confused as they entered the classroom.

"They are just jealous" Bella said.

"What? Of us?" Chloe said even more confused.

"Just ignore them" Bella said confident.

"Okay" Chloe said still confused and the bell rang.

The rest of the day went okay.

After school Bella went to the office and did her homework, read a bit and then decided to watch a movie. It was late at night and she was getting tired. She was almost asleep on Penelope's couch when the woman stood up and turned her computer off.

"Is my mom coming back?" Bella asked sleepy.

"Not tonight" Penelope said and the girl just looked sad. She felt bad. "How about if we stay in your house tonight? Do you want to do that?" She asked and Bella nodded yes rapidly. "Alright. Let's go then monkey" Garcia smiled and they headed to Emily's apartment. When they got there they got ready for bed and Bella asked "can we sleep on my mom's bed?"

"Would she be okay with me there?" Garcia asked.

"Sure" Bella said heading to Emily's bedroom. She hoped on the bed and Penelope laid next to her. The girl felt good in there and she was glad she was home.

It didn't take long for both to sleep but it didn't take long for Bella to wake either. She woke up from a bad dream but luckily stayed very quiet. She tried going back to sleep but she just couldn't. She laid in bed for a while and then decided to go inside Emily's closet. She looked around and found one of Emily's hoodies. A big Yale one that Emily slept with whenever it was cold. Bella put it on and it was ginormous on her but she felt very good wearing it. So she headed back to bed and tried to sleep. The familiar smell of her mother filled her nose and she felt more relaxed. It didn't take very long for her to be back asleep.

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On Wednesday Bella had a chilled day at Penelope's lair and they had to spend the night there. The only big thing that happened was that when Bella was walking to the bus when two girls bullied her again. Luckily Vanessa wasn't with them.

Bella was with Gavin, since Chloe was picking Millie up and Rose had left.

"Look who's here" one girl, Yuna said. "Hi shrimpy. Is your mommy back yet? Or is she gone for good this time?"

"Hi and goodbye" Gavin said grabbing Bella's hand and they kept walking.

"We are talking to you" the other girl, Gail, said pulling Bella's backpack.

"Au" Bella said as her back hurt and she almost fell.

The girls laughed.

"Stop it. Are you out of your mind?" Gavin said angry.

"Shut up fatty" Yuna said.

"Shut up bitch" Bella said angry.

The girls just stared at her and stayed quiet. They were not expecting that reaction.

"Let's go" Gavin said and they walked to the bus.

"Thanks" Gavin told Bella who just gave him a small smile.

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On Thursday things were going okay at school. Bella was talking normally with her friends now and everything was great till they had to go to art class.

That was when things got bad.

It was the last class of the day and Bella was walking to her locker to get her art supplies. Her friends headed to class first because they already had their things. So she was almost there when Vanessa and those girls appeared in front of her. The hall was pretty much empty and whoever was there wouldn't help her with anything.

"Hey shrimpy" Yuna said.

Suddenly Bella saw herself surrounded.

"Well I heard you called Yuna something bad yesterday" Vanessa said and Bella stayed quiet. She was clearly scared of the older girl.

"Have you lost your braveness today or something?" Yuna said coming close to Isabella's face.

"No" Isabella said serious.

"Oh you haven't? Cause I'm gonna teach you not to ever talk to us like that again!" Vanessa said grabbing Isabella's right arm a few inches above the elbow and squeezing it as tight as she could.

"I didn't do anything to you" Isabella said as Vanessa kept the tight grip. Bella could feel the girl's nails on her arm.

"If you talk to any of us like that again there will be far worst consequences. Do you hear me?" Vanessa said but Bella stayed quiet.

"Do you hear me?" The girl asked very close to Isabella's face.

"Yes" Isabella said as she felt a tear slip.

"Good" Vanessa said and pushed Isabella to the ground. The small girl fell and hit her back on the lockers making a loud noise. With that all the bullies ran away leaving Isabella crying on the ground.

A teacher that was in a classroom nearby packing to go home heard the noise and ran out to check.

"Isabella" she said as she saw the girl crying.

Isabella looked up and felt really embarrassed to see Miss Marion, the French teacher, staring at her.

"Are you okay?" The woman asked.

Isabella nodded yes and Marion helped her get up.

"What happened?" The teacher asked.

"I fell" Bella lied.

"You fell?" The woman asked not really believing it.

"Yeah" Bella said crying. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, okay?" The girl said and started walking.

The teacher took her hand and walked with her.

Bella got inside the bathroom and started watching her face.

"Mon amour, Que s'est-il passé?" (what happened?) Marion asked.

"It was nothing" Bella said.

"Ne me mens pas. You didn't just fell did you?" (don't lie to me) Marion said.

"No" Bella said.

"Did someone pushed you?" Marion asked.

"No. I'm fine. Alright. I have to go to class" Bella said trying to get away and not talk about it.

"No. You have to go to the principal's office with me"

"No. Please, it's okay. I'm okay" Bella said fast, begging.

"Isabella. He can help" Marion said.

"No he can't" Bella said. "It's just gonna make it worse. It's fine I got it under control" Bella said.

"You clearly don't honey" Marion said.

"Please don't make me go" Bella said.

Marion took some time to think and then said "okay. But if it happens again we'll have to talk to him" Marion said.

"Okay" Bella said.

Bella looked down at her arm and it was very red where Vanessa had held her.

"Look at that" the teacher said feeling sorry for the girl. "Let's put some water in this" she said as she noticed some scratches. Probably from the girl's nails. She washed it and dried it and then told Bella to wait there and she would get a coat so she could put on.

She got back and Bella was sitting on the floor concentrating on her breathing.

"Here" the teacher said handing a school coat to the girl. She helped Bella put it on.

"I have to go to class now" Bella said.

"Okay" Marion said with a small smile and wiped a tear that had escaped from Bella's left eye. "Look, if it happens again or if you need anything you can tell me"

"Okay" Bella said and Marion smiled. "Thanks" Bella said and walked out.

The teacher felt horrible. She had heard about the bulling some girls were doing but she never thought it could happen to Bella.

Isabella got her supplies and headed to art class.

"Where have you been Miss Marshall?" The teacher asked.

"Sorry" Bella said walking to her seat.

"You didn't answer me." The teacher said.

"I had to talk to another teacher. I'm sorry it won't happen again." Bella said.

"It better not" the teacher said and went on with the class.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked confused.

"Yeah" Bella lied and then payed attention to class.

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When the last bell rang the 4 friends walked out the door. Bella smiled as she saw Marion across the hall.

"Isabella! A word please" the woman said and Bella walked to her and her friends waited close by.

"I thought I could walk you to the bus" the woman said.

Bella smiled shyly and nodded yes. "Umm.. Gavin goes with me" Bella added.

"Oh it's alright" the teacher said.

Bella walked to her friends and the teacher followed.

"I have to go get Millie. Bye" Chloe said and gave Bella a hug.

"Bye" Bella said trying hard not to make a face when she felt her back hurting.

"We can talk on the way" Marion said trying to hide the reason she was there and they walked outside.

"Bye guys" Rose said when she saw her mom's car and walked away.

"So let's go?" Gavin said.

"Sure" Bella said.

"Well I just wanted to let you know about this book we'll read at French class and..." Miss Marion started as they walked to the bus.

"So I see you in class" Marion said when they got to the bus.

"Oui" Bella said with a smile.

"Bye" Gavin said and they walked inside the bus.

"What was that all about?" Gavin asked.

"Vanessa did something and I was upset and she found me and she just knew" Bella said. "She said she wanted to walk me to the bus. Just so no one would... You know" Bella added.

"That's nice of her" Gavin said.

"Yeah" Bella agreed.

"But what did Vanessa do?" He asked.

"I was getting my supplies and she just went nuts about me calling Yuna a bitch yesterday." Bella said.

"What exactly did she do?" He asked.

"She pushed me" Bella said.

"Are you okay?" Gavin asked worried.

"Yeah I'm fine" Bella lied. He arm was hurting a little and she could feel it was hot. And her back was hurting.

"It's my fault. You shouldn't have defended me" Gavin said feeling bad.

"Hey Gav I'm okay" Bella said. "And now miss Marion knows" she added.

"Yeah. Maybe that will help" Gavin said hopeful.

"Yeah" Bella said.

They stayed quiet the rest of the ride till Gavin's stop.

"Bye. See you tomorrow" Gavin said and Bella suddenly felt nervous thinking about facing Vanessa the next day.

She sat on the bus quietly and started feeling a bit sick just thinking about that.

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Isabella walked inside the BAU and headed to Penelope's office. She didn't even notice the team was back and inside the conference room.

She knocked on Penelope's door.

"Come in" Penelope said sounding happy.

Bella opened the door and Emily was sitting on the couch.

"Hi" Emily smiled but that smile faded as she noticed Isabella's serious face.

"They're back monkey" Penelope said excited.

"Don't I get a hug or a hello?" Emily asked.

Bella walked to her and gave her a hug. She was so embarrassed about what had happened in the mall.

"How was school?" Penelope asked.

"Fine" Bella said and sat on the couch.

"Where did you get this coat?" Penelope asked as she noticed Bella had a coat on that she did not have in the morning.

"It's Rose's" Bella lied.

Penelope smiled but Bella stayed serious.

Suddenly JJ walked in. Bella looked embarrassed to see the woman.

"Morgan brought pizza!" JJ said.

"Let's eat?" Emily asked Bella who nodded yes serious and followed the women to the conference room.

"Wow it's hot here" JJ said as they entered.

"Boy genius here managed to break the AC" Morgan said.

"Let me check" Penelope said grabbing the remote from Spencer.

"Look who's here" Derek said smiling at Bella and hugging her. Bella flinched as he hugged her tight.

Only JJ noticed.

"Yup. It's definitely broken" Penelope said putting the remote on the table. David took his blazer off and JJ and Emily did the same. It was a bit hot.

They sat to eat the pizza. Emily sat next to JJ and pulled Bella to her lap since there weren't enough seats on the table.

"Take this off. You must be boiling under there" JJ said and Bella took her coat off.

JJ noticed a purple bruise on the child's arm.

"Bella, what's this?" JJ asked.

Bella looked at her arm and tried to hide the shock. It wasn't purple like that earlier. "Nothing" the girl said trying to hide it.

"Let me see" Emily said folding the girl's sleeve.

"Bella what happened?" Emily asked worried as she saw the bruise was clearly left by a hand.

"Nothing" Bella lied.

"It's clearly something monkey. And it was not there when I left you in school today" Penelope said.

"Bella" Emily said and the girl just wrapped her arms around her neck and broke down.

"Honey. What happened?" Emily asked but Bella just cried. "Did someone do this to you?" She asked and Bella nodded yes. "Who did this honey?" Emily said and Bella just cried. The whole team was heartbroken.

"You can tell us. It's okay" JJ said.

"Vanessa did" Bella said crying.

"That tall girl in your class?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella said.

"And how did this happen? Why did she do this?" JJ asked.

"She was mad at me and she grabbed my arm" Bella said.

"Look at me" Emily said and Bella sat straight and looked at her.

"She was mad at you because of what?" Emily asked softly putting Bella's hair behind her ears.

"She was mad because I defended Gavin yesterday front this other girl and I ..." Bella said and cried.

"And you what?" Emily said.

The girl swallowed trying to get control of herself. "She called... Yuna called Gavin fat and he hated so I just..." Bella cried.

"You just what princess? You can tell us it's okay" Morgan said from his seat next Emily.

"I told her to shut up and I called her a bitch" Bella said and hugged Emily again embarrassed.

"You what?" Penelope said.

"I'm sorry" Bella cried.

"Oh honey" Emily said running her hand on Bella's back and the girl flinched and said Au very low.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Emily asked as she heard the Au.

"I hit my back on the lockers" Bella said.

"How?" Emily said. "How exactly?" She said making Bella look at her again. She wiped the girl's face. "Calm down and tell me what happened" Emily said calmly.

"I went to get my things for art class and they came out of nowhere and Vanessa grabbed my arm and started saying things while she squeezed it and-" Bella started.

"Why didn't you scream for help or something?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know" Bella cried.

Everyone stayed silent waiting for her to continue so she did.

"umm she said things and then she pushed me and I fell" Bella said.

"You fell and hit the lockers?" JJ asked.

"Yeah" Bella cried and looked down at Emily's shirt. She was so embarrassed about it and sad.

"Did you tell someone?" Morgan asked.

"My French teacher" Bella said. "Well kind of" she added.

"What do you mean kind of?" JJ asked.

"She found me and she wanted to take me to see the principal" Bella said.

"Did you talk to him?" Morgan asked.

"No. I didn't want to" Bella cried.

"Why not princess? He can help with this" Derek said.

"No he can't. It would just make it even worse" Bella said crying and hugged Emily again.

Emily ran her hand on the girl's back as usual and Bella flinched again.

"Can we check your back?" Emily asked worried.

"No" Bella cried.

"It's just us honey" Emily said and Bella stayed quiet.

"It hurts up here?" Emily asked putting her hand on it.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Can I lift up your shirt?" Emily asked and Bella nodded.

Emily started and JJ took it from her. JJ lifted it up high and everyone was speechless. Isabella had a big purple bruise on her back and a scratch, probably from hitting the locker.

JJ looked at Emily with such face that Emily knew it was bad.

"Take her home Prentiss" Hotch said. "And contact the school" he added.

"Let's go?" Emily asked Bella putting her shirt back down. Isabella nodded yes. They stood up and Emily picked the girl up. The child was really embarrassed.

"Where's her backpack?" Derek asked.

"In my office" Garcia said and they headed there.

Emily took Bella to the car.

"Can you buckle?" Emily asked. Bella nodded yes and wiped her face even though she was still crying.

"It's going to be okay Bells" Emily said putting her hand on the girl's thigh.

"I just wanna go home" Bella said.

"We're going home" Emily said and went inside the car.

"Her bag" Derek said opening the back seat door and putting it inside.

He went up to Isabella's window and asked "do you want me to go kick her ass?"

Emily smiled as Isabella's eyes widened.

"I'm serious we can go to her house right now" he said smiling and Bella couldn't help but smile.

"drive safe" he told Emily and Emily drove home.

At home Bella held Emily's hand all the way to Emily's bedroom.

"What's this doing here?" Emily asked as she saw her Yale hoodie on the bed.

"I slept with it" Bella said sitting on the bed.

"Why?" Emily asked standing in front of the girl.

"It smells like you" Bella said almost a whisper.

"Come here" Emily said and Bella hugged her. She pulled the girl up and sat on the bed with Bella on her lap.

"I'm sorry for the tantrum in the mall mom. It was dumb and babyish" Bella said crying.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"I was just scared" Bella said.

"Scared of what baby?" Emily asked as she saw the perfect opportunity to talk about that.

"I don't want it to be like before" Bella said.

"Like when you were in Seattle with daddy?" Emily asked to make sure but she knew it was that.

"Yeah. You would tell me you'd go see me soon and then It would take a long time."

"Oh honey, I know these past few weeks were packed for the team but it's not always like that. We've never gone in three cases so close before" Emily said. "It's not like this"

"Is not?" Bella said.

"No. It's like before all that Jeremy craziness" Emily said. "You were doing so good with Penelope back then. What happened?"

"I just got scared because you came home and on the next day you were gone and then you came back and it happened again" Bella cried.

"It's not always like that I promise." Emily said.

"I don't want to hear you say you'll try your best to be with me, like before. I just want you to be with me" Bella said crying.

Emily soothed the girl hair.

"You miss when mommy hold you like this?" Emily asked sweetly.

"Yes" Bella said. "Sometimes I just wanna hug you"

"I know. But aunt Penelope gives amazing hugs too" Emily smiled.

"But not like yours" Bella said.

They were quiet for a while, just hugging till Emily said "do you promise you won't throw tantrums like that again? Cause you're a big girl now"

"Yeah, I promise" Bella said.

"Okay." Emily smiled letting go of the hug.

"I'm really sorry" Bella said looking in her mother's eyes.

"I know you are. And mommy is sorry too" Emily said with a small smile and wiped Bella's cheek.

"How many days are you gonna stay home?" Bella suddenly asked.

"For sure, till Monday" Emily said.

"But what if they call you like last time and you have to go?" Bella asked.

"Well I had already told Hotch that this was our weekend. So no matter if we have a case or not, I'm gonna stay home with you" Emily said.

"Really?" Bella asked not crying anymore.

"Really" Emily smiled and hugged Bella again.

"It's our weekend. Just you and I" Emily said.

Bella could still be heard sniffing.

"I love you Bells" Emily said.

"I love you too mommy" Bella said.

"How about a bath now? And then we can maybe watch a movie?" Emily suggested running her fingers through Bella's silky hair.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Go get your clothes and I'll get the bath started here" Emily said and Bella got up. The girl went to her own bedroom and Emily went to the bathroom. She started the water and then made some bubbles.

Bella got back carrying her pajamas, long sleeves and pants as usual, and a towel.

"Bubbles?" Bella asked as she saw Emily putting even more in.

"Come on get in" Emily smiled. It had been a long time since she had prepared a bath for the girl.

Bella started taking her clothes off but when it came to the shirt her back was hurting.

"Let me help you" Emily said and helped Bella take it off. "Oh baby" Emily said as she saw the big purple bruise and a scratch. "You must have hit the locker so hard" Emily said.

Bella nodded yes as her eyes filled with tears. Emily wrapped her in a hug. Bella felt so vulnerable. She only had panties on and she was hurt. She just wanted to cry.

"Get in" Emily said as she felt she was about to cry too.

Bella got inside and sat.

"Do you want me to stay here?" Emily asked and Bella shook her head no.

"Alright. I'll be right outside okay? Anything just call me" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and Emily walked out.

Bella stayed there for about 10 minutes and then she walked out and got dressed. She looked in the mirror and hated what she saw. She had red and puffy eyes from crying so much. She watched her face with the cold water and walked out.

"All done?" Emily asked from the bed and Bella nodded and hugged her.

"Get up here with me" Emily said and Bella got on the bed, went over Emily and sat next to her.

"Go and choose a movie to watch while I shower super-fast and... make popcorn" Emily said smiling.

"Okay" Bella said.

Emily went to the bathroom and Bella laid on the bed.

When Emily got out of the shower Bella said " 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' is about to start. Do you want to watch that?"

"Sure. Let me go get popcorn" Emily said smiling and hurried downstairs. She made popcorn in the microwave and headed back up.

"Here" she said handing Bella a can of coke. Bella put it on the nightstand and sat on the bed. Emily sat next to her and they watched the movie and ate popcorn.

Once that movie was over Emily picked out another one.

20 minutes into it and Bella was starting to look tired.

"Are you sleepy?" Emily asked.

Bella laid down and asked "can you put something on my back? It hurts"

"Let me get an ice pack" Emily said and walked downstairs.

She sat next to Bella and said "come here" the girl hugged her and she held the ice back in place.

"It's wetting my whole shirt" Bella said.

"Take it off" Emily said and she helped Bella take her shirt off. She got a towel and hugged Bella again. She put the ice pack above the towel and held it in place.

As the pain got a more and more relieved, Bella got more and more sleepy.

She ended up falling asleep like that. Emily smiled as she noticed the girl was out and held the pack a while longer. The she put Bella down on the bed and went to put the ice pack back in the fridge in case Bella needed it again. Then she went back to bed and laid next to the girl. She covered Bella up since it was cold and the kid didn't have her shirt on, and then went back to paying attention to the movie.

Bella slept a lot. Emily figured Bella hadn't been sleeping very well so she let the girl sleep.

Around 11 Bella woke up and Emily was sitting on the bed with her computer in hands.

"Hi" Emily said.

"Where's my shirt?" Bella asked. She was cold. Emily picked it up and gave it to her.

Bella put it on and laid back down.

"What are doing?" Bella asked sleepy.

"I was just talking with Carl." Emily said. Carl, was the school's principal.

Bella kind of froze. She didn't want any more trouble with those girls.

"He wants to talk to me tomorrow at 4" Emily said.

"Please don't tell him" Bella said with a sad face.

"I already did honey. I'm not letting anyone hurt you like this" Emily said and Bella looked sad. "It won't make it worse. I promise you." Emily said.

"You don't know that" Bella said.

"If it gets worse I'll tell Derek to go kick her ass" Emily said and Bella couldn't help but smile.

"Do you think he would do it?" Bella asked.

Emily laughed. "I'm pretty he would kick her parents ass" Emily said and Bella smiled.

"Now go back to sleep, okay? It's late." Emily said.

Bella grabbed her blanket from under the pillow and Duffy from the end of the bed.

"You really like that bear don't you?" Emily said.

"Yeah" Bella said. "He's nice to hug" she added.

Emily smiled and put the computer down on the bed.

"Well, I found this in the Disney store at the airport and I thought he might need it" Emily said walking to her go bag. She got a Disney bag out and went to the bed and handed it to Bella.

Bella opened and smiled as she saw what was inside. "Is this an outfit for him?" Bella asked laughing.

"Yeah. It's a Sulley costume for your bear. From Monsters Inc. It's cute, right?" Emily said sitting down on the bed.

"It's adorable" Bella said. "Can I put it on him right now?" Bella asked.

"Of course" Emily laughed. "Let me open it for you" she said and Bella handed Emily the thing. Emily opened and handed the costume to the girl who put it on the bear.

"It so cute mom, thanks" Bella said.

"You're welcome" Emily smiled and put a lock of hair behind Bella's ear.

The girl laid down and hugged her bear and her blanket.

"I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily said and placed a kiss on the girl's head.

Bella snuggled closer to Emily and closed her eyes.

It didn't take very long for her to sleep again.

Emily finished what she was doing on the computer and then laid down too. She covered Bella up and kissed her head. The woman was happy to be back home with her baby. And she was relieved she finally knew what was bothering the girl so much about her work.

She promised it wouldn't be like before and she would for sure not ever let it be like before.


	61. Chapter 61: Do Not Touch My Daughter

**(Friday)**

Emily woke Bella up to go to school and the girl was not happy about it.

"I don't wanna go" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears. Bella hid her face on her bear as she realized she was about to cry.

Emily knew the kid was probably scared of Vanessa.

"Alright. Just today, okay?" Emily said sitting on the bed next to the girl.

"Really?" Bella asked looking at Emily in disbelief.

"Really" Emily smiled. "But none of this next week" she added.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Go back to sleep. I'll be right back." Emily said, gave Bella's head a kiss and walked out of the bedroom. She went to the kitchen to get breakfast and called Hotch. She explained she would meet the principal later and asked if it was okay if she worked from home. Hotch cleared her so she went back upstairs with a bowl of cereal to Bella.

"Hey. Food" Emily said sitting next to Isabella. The girl sat up and took the bowl. She made a face as her back hurt.

"Does it still hurt?" Emily asked trying to hide her anger.

"Just a little bit" Bella said and Emily gave the girl a small smile.

"You're not going to work?" Bella asked as Emily covered herself with a blanket.

"No. We're staying home today" Emily said.

"We are?" Bella asked happy.

"Yes" Emily smiled.

Bella ate her cereal as they watched some tv. When the girl was done, Emily decided they should talk a little about what had happened.

"Honey, I told the principal what happened and he scheduled a meeting for today at 4" Emily said and Bella didn't look very happy about it. "Look, I know it's scary but we have to talk to him"

"Mom, he can't help. Why can't anyone understand?" Bella said upset and turned her back to Emily.

"Bells. He will help. Even if I have to force him somehow" Emily said serious. Bella knew she wasn't joking.

Isabella laid her head on Emily's lap. "I just don't want it to get worse" the girl said.

"Don't worry baby" Emily said soothing Bella's hair.

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The morning went fine for Emily and Isabella. They stayed home and watched tv and played some games on Bella's ipad together, it was fun. Isabella liked having that time with her mother.

Emily made steak and fries for lunch and Bella loved it.

Later in the afternoon, Emily told Bella to go get ready because they had to go to the school.

"Can I ask uncle Morgan to go with us?" Bella asked.

Emily could see the girl was nervous.

"Go get ready and I'll call him" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and went to take a shower.

Emily called Derek because she knew that if Bella called he would feel bad and say yes even if he was really busy. So she called and for her luck he was just working on some papers he had to finish so he said he would pick them up.

"Thank you so much Derek" Emily said.

"No worries" he said.

Emily smiled; they said their goodbye and hung up. She changed quickly and went to Isabella's bedroom.

Emily walked inside to find the girl brushing her hair in front of her vanity. She had a navy blue dress on, black tights and her black docs.

"Do you want some help?" Emily asked as she noticed the girl's face. Her back was hurting a little as she brushed her hair.

"Yeah" Bella said and handed the comb to Emily.

"Do you want a braid?" Emily asked.

"No. Just leave it down, my head hurts" Bella said.

Emily finished brushing the girl's hair and suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Bella asked.

"Morgan's coming" Emily smiled.

"He is?" Bella asked excited.

"Yes" Emily smiled. "Let's go?" She said and Bella nodded, got her coat and they headed down.

"Hello princess" Derek told Bella as Emily opened the door and Bella smiled at him.

"Thank you" Bella said and hugged him.

Emily and Morgan smiled. Derek took Isabella's hand and they headed to the school.

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As they entered the big building Bella couldn't hide how nervous she was. She really didn't want to talk about everything that happened.

They went to the principal's office and he was waiting for them.

"Come on in" Carl Jones, the principal, said.

They went in. Emily and Derek sat and Emily pulled Bella to her lap.

"This is Isabella's uncle" Emily said not sure of how she should introduce Derek.

"Derek Morgan, sir" Morgan said and shook the man's hand.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me" Carl told them and walked to the door.

"Hi" Marion, the French teacher said.

"Oh come on in" Carl said. "This is Miss Marion, our French teacher. Is it alright if she's here while we talk?" He asked and Derek and Emily just looked at Bella who nodded yes. The teacher sat on a couch in the corner of the room.

"So Miss Marion told me yesterday about an incident before art class and later on you called me Miss Prentiss" the principal started. "You've mentioned that your daughter fell and got hurt so if you don't mind I'd like the school nurse take a look. Just to make sure it's not a serious injury." He said.

"Is that okay honey?" Emily asked Bella who nodded shyly as her eyes filled with tears.

"Alright. So Bella do you mind if I asked you a few questions about what has been going on?" Carl said and Bella just looked at Emily.

"It's okay baby" Emily said noticing Bella was extremely nervous. Since the girl didn't say anything, Emily looked at the principal in a way of telling him to go on and ask.

"Do you remember when exactly this started?" He asked.

"A long time ago" Bella said looking at the floor.

"How long?" Emily said giving the girl's hand a squeeze.

Bella just hugged Emily and started crying.

"Oh honey. Come on. He can help" Emily said.

"It was right when I came, remember?" Bella said.

"Alright" the principal said and wrote it down. "And who bullied you?" He asked.

Bella stayed quiet.

"Vanessa and.." Emily started.

"Mom" Bella cried. She was so scared the girl's would get mad at her.

"Look at me" Emily said and Bella sat up straight. "It's going to be okay. You just have to tell the truth" Emily said.

"Tell him who bullied you Bella" Morgan said.

Bella took a deep breath. "It's was Vanessa, Yuna, ... Ummmm... Gail and Mazzy." Bella said.

"They are all from your class?" The principal said.

"Yes" Bella said as tears rolled down her face.

"And what did they do to you?" Carl asked.

"Umm" Bella said and sniffed. "Mazzy barely talks, she just walks with them. She only talked to me once... Gail and Yuna, they say things and they follow Vanessa whenever she's bulling me" Bella said.

"and how about vanessa?" Carl asked.

"She says things... She's really mean" Bella said.

"Was she the one that pushed you?" He asked.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"And why did she push you?" Carl asked.

Bella looked at Emily unsure if she should tell that she called Yuna a bitch.

"Tell the truth honey" Emily said knowing exactly what was going through the child's mind.

"The other day, Yuna called Gavin fatty and he hates that so I called her the b word" Bella said.

"B-I-t-c-H ?" Carl spelled.

"Yes" Bella said.

"And then what happened?" Carl asked.

"It was only Yuna and Gail so when I said that they didn't do anything. They just kept quiet, but then on the next day i went to get my art supplies and all of them came out of nowhere and Vanessa held my arm" Bella said.

"She has a bruise on her arm too" Emily said.

The principal nodded understanding and said "so she held your arm tight and what did she say to you?"

"She said that she would teach me how to never speak to them like that. And then she pushed me and I hit my back on the lockers" Bella said almost unable to finish.

"And then Miss Marion found you?" Carl asked and Bella nodded yes.

"Did you see those girls?" He asked the teacher.

"No, but I have heard from other kids that they are bullies" Marion said.

"Look Miss Prentiss. I had talked to an older student that was in the hall right after this happened. So I've scheduled a meeting with their parents and they will be going to detention all week next week" Carl said.

"And Bella" he said and Bella looked at him. "If they come up to you and say anything, you come directly to my office. Okay?" He said.

Bella nodded.

The man could tell she looked scared.

"The next punishment for them is suspension" he said serious, now to Emily.

"Thank you sir" Emily said. She wished they would have had a way worse punishment then detention. But at least it was something.

"Take her to get checked please" Carl said standing up. Marion, Derek, Bella and Emily stood up too. They shook hands, said goodbye and walked out of the office.

Bella froze as she stepped outside, holding Derek's hand, as she saw the 4 girls waiting with their parents.

"Agent?" a man said. He was tall, pale, with a very dark hair and brown eyes.

"Wiles" Emily said surprised to see the man there.

Kyle Wiles, stood up from his seat and walked to them, holding his daughter's hand.

Isabella quickly hid behind Emily.

"Agent" Morgan said shaking his hand.

"It's been a long time" Kyle said.

Kyle used to work at the BAU, but had recently changed to white-collar crime division. He wasn't a part of the team but they would always see him around in the office.

"Yeah" Prentiss said shaking the man's hand.

"Well, this is my daughter, Mazzy" Kyle said.

"Hello there" Morgan said realizing now why Isabella was hiding.

"Is this one yours?" Kyle said looking at Bella. He had heard about the girl, but he had left before she moved in with Emily.

"Yes. This is Bella." Emily said making Bella stand in front of her.

"Hi" the man said. "Wow she looks so much like you. ..Nice to meet you" he held his hand out but Bella didn't do anything.

"Come here" Derek said and picked her up. "She needs to see the school nurse" he said.

"Oh. Alright" Kyle said.

"We'll see you around" Morgan said.

"Sure sure. You should stop by at my office to play poker sometime" Kyle told Derek. "both of you" he told Emily.

Emily smiled and Derek too.

"Bye" Emily said and they headed to the nurse station.

"Sorry for that princess" Morgan said to Bella who was clearly upset.

"I didn't even know he had a daughter" Emily said.

"I met her once. She was such a sweet kid." Morgan said.

"Bad Influences are just... awful" Emily said.

"Yeah" Bella said as they got to the nurse station.

They got in and Bella wasn't really okay with showing her bruises.

"I'll wait outside" Derek said and walked out.

Emily convinced Bella to take her dress off so the nurse could take a look on her back. As Emily expected, it was nothing serious. The nurse took pictures without Isabella seeing it. Emily gave her the go because she knew Bella wouldn't like it. She put a bandage on Bella's back just because of the scratch and told Emily to put an ice pack to relieve the pain. Bella got dressed and they headed to the car.

The nurse went to the principal's office with the pictures so he could show it to the bullies' parents.

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"Are you alright?" Derek asked the child as Emily carried her to the car.

"She's okay." Emily said putting Bella down and the girl got in the backseat.

"I need some ice cream" Derek said smiling. "Who's with me?" He asked looking at Bella.

"I am" Emily said.

"You?" Derek asked.

"Sure" Bella said unable to hide a little smile.

Morgan and Emily smiled and they headed to the ice cream shop.

After eating, Morgan dropped them off and headed to his house.

Emily and Bella spent the rest of the day watching tv and the girl kept an ice pack on her back for a long time.

Emily tried taking about the bullying but Bella avoided. Since the girl had taken a big step by telling the principal, Emily decided not to push it.

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 **(Saturday)**

Emily woke up at 9. Since it was Saturday, she let Isabella sleep for as long as she liked. So while the girl slept, Emily had breakfast, did some cleaning and started cooking lunch.

It was almost 1 when Bella woke up. She sat up on her mother's bed, grabbed her phone on the nightstand and checked the time. 12:45.

"Wow it's late" Bella said. She went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, watched her face and headed downstairs.

"Good morning sunshine" Emily smiled as Bella got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Bella asked pushing her hair off her face.

"It's Saturday. We have nothing to do baby" Emily said as she mixed something inside a pig pan.

"Good point" Bella said and Emily laughed.

"Is this you telling me you want to go out?" Emily asked.

"Maybe" Bella smiled and took a seat at the island.

"We can go somewhere after lunch" Emily said.

"Somewhere like... Barnes and Noble?" Bella said.

"Why not" Emily said smiling and Bella said "yay!"

"Hey! I didn't say you could buy anything" Emily said and Bella's smile faded.

"I'm joking" Emily said laughing. "I'll let you get one book"

"Three" Bella said.

"No!" Emily laughed.

"Two then" Bella said.

"Not three. Not two. Just one. And stop trying to negotiate" Emily said smiling.

"But mom I-"

"It's gonna be zero if you keep going" Emily cut her off, smiling.

"Fine" Bella smiled.

Suddenly her phone rang.

She answered.

"Hey Chloe" Bella said.

"Hi. Gavin is here and Ro is coming over in a little while. Do you wanna come?" Chloe said.

"Ummn..." Bella said. She didn't really want to go but she didn't want to hurt Chloe's feelings. "Wait up" Bella said. She took the phone out of her ear and counted to 10. Then she put it back on and said "Chloe, I can't. I'm going out with my mom, we'll probably get home really late"

"Oh okay. Maybe another time then" Chloe said.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Alright. Bye. I see you on Monday" Chloe said.

"Bye" Bella said and hung up.

When she looked at Emily, Emily was staring at her with crossed arms.

"What just happened here?" Emily asked waiting for a solid explanation.

"She invited me over and I don't want to go" Bella said honestly.

"You don't want to go so you lied?" Emily asked confused.

"What was I supposed to say? That I don't want to have to explain why my arm is like this and why my back is hurting?" Bella said looking at the bruise on her arm.

"Honey" Emily said. "They are your friends"

"I know. And it's my fault they get bully" Bella said upset, looking down at the floor.

"No Bella" Emily said turning the fire off and walking to the girl.

"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything baby. Those girls are just mean. You did nothing, okay?" Emily said running her hand on Bella's lower back. "Okay?" She asked again and Bella nodded and a couple tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I just don't wanna go. I want to stay with you today" Bella said wiping her face.

Emily started to help and said "you could have told them just that. They would've understood"

"Sorry" Bella said.

Emily gave Bella's nose a little kiss and went back to cooking.

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They had lunch around 2, then got ready and headed to Barnes and Noble. They stayed inside for almost 3 hours. Emily sat with Bella on a couch and they just read.

"I like coming here with you" Emily told Bella.

"Me too" Bella smiled and went back to reading.

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At Hilary's house, the three friends knew something was going on with Bella. They talked about what they thought it was and they all thought it was one of two things: either Emily or the bullies.

"The other day she was upset about her mom working but I think it got so bad because of those girls" Chloe said.

"What do you mean?" Ro asked.

"Ever since Bella started school they keep talking about her parents" Chloe said.

"Yeah. Whenever they say things involving anything else she's fine but when it's them she gets really upset" Gavin said.

"Why don't we talk to the principal? At my other school they had very strictly rules about bullying" Rose said.

"My mom talked to him before and it didn't change much" Chloe said.

"Yeah. They just sort of stopped picking on us while in class" Gavin said.

"But outside who is going to watch them?" Chloe said.

"Yeah" Rose said feeling bad. "Did you ever tell you parents?" She asked Gavin.

"Yeah" Gavin said. "My dad always tells me that it doesn't matter how the bullies see us, you know? But how we see ourselves. They tell me to never let anyone tell me who I am" Gavin said.

"Your dad is right" Chloe said.

"He is. But sometimes it's hard" Gavin said. " 'cause I mean, I know I'm a bit fat, does it makes me sad, kind of. 'Cause like… I can't run as fast as the other boys or do active things my sister can do. But I don't think I'm ugly." Gavin said.

"And you're not" Chloe said.

"But it's hard when someone's screaming at your face calling you ugly and fat" he said.

"You're anything but ugly Gav. You're awesome" Chloe said.

"You're pretty awesome too" Gavin said. "Both of you"

"Thanks" the girl's said and they laughed.

Suddenly Hilary walked in.

"Hey. I made you guys a snack" she said walking to them and laying down a plate with Cookies.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked them confused at why they were sitting in the bedroom floor.

"Just talking" Chloe said.

Hilary smiled.

"Alright. I'll let you guys talk then" Hilary said walking to the door.

"Wait! mom!" Chloe said and Hilary turned around. "We're a little worried about Bella" Chloe said and Hilary walked to them.

"Why sweetie?" She asked sitting next to Chloe.

"Remember when Bella was with Jeremy and those stupid girls bullied Gavin and I?" Chloe said and Hilary nodded. "They bullied us again some other times. And the other day, out of nowhere, Bella was really weird and quiet. She was barely talking to us and then she broke down"

"What do you mean she broke down?" Hilary asked worried.

"She started crying a lot and she said those girls said something about Emily and I told her it wasn't true but she wouldn't believe me" Chloe said.

"Do you know what they told her?" Hilary asked.

"It was about Emily's works." Chloe said.

"Yeah about how she's away a lot" Rose said.

"I see" Hilary said. "And why does that worry you guys?"

"Well it worries me because they keep talking about her parents and I know that she's trying hard to get used to living with her mom and her mom's work, just her life here and... They are just making it horrible" Chloe said.

"Yeah. Sometimes it's like she loves here and she's having fun and all and then out of nowhere she's a mess" Gavin said. He knew Vanessa had pushed Bella but he thought Bella should be the one telling everyone and not him. So he just kept it to himself.

Hilary took a deep breath and said "you know kids, Bella is a very tough girl. But she's also very little. And I don't mean that in height, even though she is little" she smiled and they smiled too.

"I mean that as age. You guys are 11 years-old, you guys are kids. And she just turned eleven. She's very smart and very tough but she's been through so much in so little time. You know?" She said and grabbed Chloe's hand.

"She lost her dad and then she moved here. And started a new school with new people and she started going to her mother's work with more new people. She got new friends" Hilary smiled.

"She got a new big family" she said, talking about the team.

"Even though most of it is good and fun it's a lot to take in. It's a lot to a grown up. Moving and doing all these new things with new people. Just imagine to a little girl. Cause she's a little girl just like you guys" Hilary said. "Well not like you Gavin, but you know what I mean" she said and they laughed.

"I really think that Bella needs time and she needs love. Lots and lots of love. And I know you guys got the love part taken care of so don't worry too much okay? Let the grownups do the worrying. You guys be kids and play with her and have fun. Okay?"

Chloe nodded.

"But isn't there a way to help her?" Gavin asked.

"Being by her side. Having fun with her. Just making sure that she knows you guys are here for her" Hilary said and the kids nodded.

There was a bit of silence and suddenly Chloe said "mom, can you tell Emily she's getting bullied? Maybe she can help somehow. And I don't think Bella tells her"

"Of course I can" Hilary said and hugged the girl.

She had tears in her eyes. "We'll look what you did to me!" She laughed and wiped her face as a tear rolled down. The kids laughed. "Eat these cookies before Millie comes in here" Hilary said standing up.

"Thanks Miss Hilary" Gavin said.

"Just Hilary!" Hilary said quickly and the kids laughed. Gavin was always being correct on that.

.

Hilary went to her kitchen and called Emily.

Emily was looking at some books while Bella sat on a couch nearby and read a book by John Green, when her phone started ringing.

"Hello, Emily?" Hilary said.

"Hi" Emily said.

"Can you talk right now or are you busy?" Hilary asked.

"I can talk" Emily said and sat on a table a bit away from Bella.

"Well, the kids are here at my house and they were talking about Bella and they asked me to tell you" Hilary said.

"Tell me what? What happened?" Emily asked.

"They said they are getting bullied again and that the girls are going pretty heavy on Bella" Hilary said.

"You have no idea Hilary" Emily said taking a deep breath.

"What do you mean?" Hilary asked worried.

Emily checked on Bella to make sure she was away and started talking. "She went to the office after school and JJ noticed a bruise on her arm."

"Oh God" Hilary said almost a whisper.

"So we asked her what happened and... We found out that Vanessa held her arm very tightly and then pushed her. Bella was alone, the other kids were already in class, she went to get her art supplies."

"Oh my god. Is she okay?" Hilary asked worried and in shock.

"She's alright. She hurt her back when she fell so there's a big ugly bruise on her back but she'll be okay." Emily said.

"And what are we going to do about this? There's no way we can allow this to keep going" Hilary said.

"I went with Bella to see the principal yesterday and she told him what happened" Emily said.

"What did he say?" Hilary asked.

"He said the 4 girls will have to be in detention all week next week and if anything else happens they'll get suspended." Emily said.

"Do you think that's gonna work?" Hilary asked. She had heard that talk before.

"I don't know" Emily said. "I just want her to be okay at school, you know? She's so scared. And if this keeps going I'll have no choice but to change her to another school" Emily said.

"Chloe will be right there with her. No matter where you decided she'll go" Hilary said.

"Thank you Hilary." Emily said.

"But hopefully we won't have to do that" Hilary said.

"Yes" Emily said and suddenly Bella started walking to her. "Well, I gotta go, she's coming"

"Okay." Hilary said. "Bye"

"Bye" Emily said and hung up.

"Who was it?" Bella asked.

"Hilary" Emily said.

"Was she worried because I didn't go there?" Bella asked.

"No. It's just that the kids told her they're getting bullied and she called to let me know" Emily said.

"She called you?" Bella asked looking a bit down.

"Yes and I told her what happened. If that's what you want to know" Emily said.

"And what did she say?" Bella asked.

"That this has to stop" Emily said.

"She's right" Bella said and hugged Emily.

They hugged for a while and then Emily said "so what book are you getting?"

"This one" Bella said holding a copy of 'Elixir' by Hilary Duff.

"Alright. Let's go then?" Emily asked standing up.

"Yup" Bella said and they walked to the cashier. They payed and headed home.

The rest of the day went fine. Bella read her book while Emily read what she had bought.

Sunday wasn't much different. They had a chilled day in the apartment with lots of reading and movie watching.

At night Bella went to her own bed and Emily went to tuck her in. The girl was a little nervous and Emily just knew why.

"Are you scared about tomorrow?" Emily asked sitting next to the girl who was squeezing her bear with one arm and Tramp with the other.

"I guess so" Bella said.

"Look. You know my number and you know I'll be just a call away" Emily said putting a lock of hair behind Isabella's ear.

"But what if they do something?" Bella asked.

"You call me and while you're calling You go straight to the principal's office" Emily said. "Okay? Do you understand?"

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Can I sleep on your bed again?" Bella asked shyly.

"Yes" Emily smiled.

Bella followed Emily, carrying her bear, Tramp and her blanket.

They snuggled up on Emily's bed.

"Wow you have a whole crew here" Emily smiled.

"They're cuddly" Bella said and Emily laughed.

"Well, you are cuddly, baby" Emily said getting closer to Bella and wrapping one arm around her.

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 **(Monday)**

"Bella, wake up sunshine" Emily sang putting Bella's hair away from her face. The girl opened her eyes and blinked a little.

"Good morning" Emily said.

"Morning" Bella said and hugged Emily.

Emily hugged Isabella back.

"Let's get ready baby" Emily said letting go of the hug.

Bella sat up. "Let's go" Emily said standing up and Bella got out of bed. Both women got ready and headed down for lunch.

"Are you cold?" Emily asked as she saw Bella at the bottom of the stairs wearing a coat. It wasn't cold at all.

"No." Bella said with a sad face and Emily just knew. She wanted to hide her bruise.

"Come eat breakfast" Emily said.

They ate and then headed to the school.

.

"Mom, anything I can call, right?" Bella said as they were getting closer to the school.

"Of course you can" Emily said.

Bella took a deep breath.

"You're gonna be okay" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said as Emily parked the car.

"Hug?" Emily said as Isabella unbuckled. Bella smiled and hugged her mom. "I love you" Emily said.

"I love you too" Bella said.

Emily could hear the nervousness in the child's voice.

"Have a good day" Emily said.

"You too" Bella said letting go of the hug.

"Bye" Emily said.

Bella got out of the car, said bye and left. She walked up the steps to find her friends at the entrance.

"Hi!" Chloe said and hugged her.

"How are you?" Gavin asked.

"I'm okay" Bella smiled. She was happy to see her friends.

"Good" Rose smiled.

"Oh Bella! They notified us on Friday that they would switch classes so today we'll have the Tuesday schedule and tomorrow monday's" Gavin said.

"Thank god, no PE" Rose said and they all laughed.

"So how are you guys?" Bella asked as they walked to their classroom.

"I'm fine" Gavin said.

"Me too" Chloe said.

"Same here" Rose said.

They walked inside. Rose took the second seat. "You can seat there, I don't mind" she told Bella.

"Thanks" Bella said smiling and sat in the front.

Suddenly Mazzy walked in and Bella got serious and sat up straight completely ignoring everyone. The girl walked and sat around the middle. A while later Gail, Yuna and Vanessa walked in and sat on the far back.

"Pssss..." Vanessa called Mazzy and Mazzy turned to see her. "Come seat here" Vanessa said.

"I can't" Mazzy said serious and turned around as the teacher walked in.

He started the class and everyone was quiet. They had English and geometry and then recess was great. No signs of those bullies, the girl's completely ignored them. The last class of Geometry, the Principal interrupted.

He walked in and talked about bullying with the school psychologist. They explained what it was and how it made people feel and also what consequences it would have now. Carl couldn't help but look straight to those girls when he talked.

Isabella and her friends felt good that they were in fact doing something. They just hoped it was enough to make it stop.

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The last class of the day was French. Chloe and Bella headed to class while Rose and Gavin went to theirs. Everything went fine and of course Miss Marion wanted to talk to Bella. She went to the girl's desk and they talked in French so the other students wouldn't really understand. The woman asked about what the principal had said and also if those girls had done anything else. Bella told her and Marion said that if she needed anything she would be right there. Bella felt nice that the teacher really cared.

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Later at the office, Emily was working on a profile when Isabella arrived.

"Hi" Bella said walking to her mother desk.

"Hi baby" Emily said standing and then pulled the girl to a hug. "How was school?" She asked.

"It was okay" Bella said.

"No bullies?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella smiled.

"Take this off" Emily said and helped Bella with her backpack. She put under her desk, sat back down and pulled Bella to her lap.

Suddenly Morgan and Reid walked there.

"Oh look who's in the house" Morgan said smiling.

"Hi" Bella said and he went there and hugged her.

"Everything good with you?" He asked.

"Yup" Bella said.

"Hi" Reid said sitting on his desk in front of Emily's.

Bella smiled at him and waved.

"Do you have any homework?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella said not excited at all.

"Go start on those, alright?" Emily said.

"No" Bella said getting comfortable on Emily's arms.

"come on honey. Just do it and get it over with" Emily said.

Bella let go and got a chair. She sat next to Emily on the desk and got her folder out.

"What do you have here?" Emily asked.

"Just French and English" Bella said and started working on it.

It didn't take long for her to finish and once she was done Emily and Derek were about to start working on a profile together so Derek suggested they could seat in the conference room. So there they went.

Bella took a seat on the couch with her Hilary duff's book and the grownups sat around the table. JJ and Penelope were there too.

Bella was reading when she got a text from Cameron. 'how's everything, tiny?"

The girl looked at it and smiled. But her smile faded as she suddenly wasn't sure of what to say. She thought for a while and then sent 'everything is great. I'm at the bau now and I'm a little busy. We can talk later maybe'

'okay. Xoxo' Cameron sent and Bella went back to reading.

.

After about 20 minutes, a lady walked in.

"Agent Prentiss. There's someone here to see you" she said and everyone looked at the door.

When Derek saw who it was he got out of his seat and went to seat next to Isabella, who quickly grabbed his hand and held it tight.

"Come on in" Emily said serious trying to hide how surprised she was.

Agent Wiles and Mazzy walked in and right behind them was Yuna with her mom and dad.

…


	62. Chapter 62: Guess What

…"Agent Prentiss. There's someone here to see you" she said and everyone looked at the door.

When Derek saw who it was he got out of his seat and went to sit on the couch next to Isabella, who quickly grabbed his hand and held it tight.

"Come on in" Emily said.

Agent Wiles and Mazzy walked in and right behind them was Yuna with her mom and dad.

Isabella's heart seemed like it was about to come out of her chest. All she could think was 'what the hell are they doing here?'

"Agents, this is Gregory and Jacqueline Maguire, they are Yuna's parents" Kyle said. "This is Emily Prentiss. Isabella's mother" he told the couple and Emily shook their hand politely still a bit confused.

"Well, we had a meeting with the school's principal yesterday and we could not be more ashamed about our daughters' behavior." Kyle said. "We find it unacceptable. They had no right to talk like they did or hurt anyone like they did" he said and Emily nodded slightly. "They came to apologize" Kyle said and Isabella sat on Derek's lap and looked away from them. She did not want to talk to them.

"We sincerely apologize as their parents. We should have known this was happening and we should have stopped it" Gregory said.

"It never went through our minds that our daughter would do something like this" Yuna's mother, Jacqueline, said.

"If you are interested they are grounded" Kyle said looking at the two girls who looked so embarrassed it was almost uncomfortable to be in the same room. "And they will NOT do anything like this again" he said. "Will you?" He asked them.

"No" both girls said.

The parents just looked at Emily as if they were waiting for Bella to go talk to them. So Emily walked to the girl who was clearly trying to hide.

"Come here" Emily said low, and grabbed Bella's hand.

"No" Bella said serious and grabbed a handful of Derek's shirt with her other hand.

"It's okay honey. Come here with me" Emily said on Bella's ear and Bella got up. She held Emily's hand tight and walked to them with tears in her eyes.

Kyle gave Mazzy a little push and the girl started talking. "I'm really sorry for what I did to you. It won't happen again" the girl said sounding very rehearsed.

"Mazzy. I want a true apology" Kyle said.

"I'm sorry Bella" the girl said as her eyes filled with tears. "Vanessa kept saying things and I... I just didn't do anything because I didn't want her against me" she said honestly. "I'm really sorry. And I'll never ever bully you again. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I'm sorry" she said as a couple tears fell.

Everyone could see she really was sorry.

And Bella could definitely tell the girl was just as scared of Vanessa as she was.

Suddenly Yuna started talking and Bella hid behind Emily. It was almost involuntary. The second the girl talked she hid.

She didn't like Yuna at all.

"I'm sorry too" the girl said. "We just followed Vanessa" she said. "It won't happen again" the girl was clearly hating to do that.

"Do you forgive us?" Mazzy asked.

Bella just kept hiding.

"Bells" Emily said looking at the girl expecting a yes. Bella nodded yes and hugged Emily's waist hiding her face on her mother's stomach.

"If any of this happens again" Kyle said looking and Mazzy and Yuna now. "There will be far worse consequences. Do you hear me?" He said and Mazzy nodded yes. "Both of you" he told Yuna and the girl said "yes sir".

He looked at Yuna's parents and they took both girls outside. Kyle walked closer to Emily and Bella. He kneed down and looked at the girl.

"Look, if they do anything. Any of them. Your mom has my number and you tell her to call me" he said. "Okay?" He asked and Bella nodded.

"I'm really sorry" he said.

"Your daughter was just sort of there. She never really... Umm she never really hurt me" Bella said.

"Thank you for telling me that" he said and stood up. "I'm sorry Prentiss" he said.

"Thank you for coming here" Emily said with a small smile.

"Anything just call" Kyle said and Emily nodded and then he walked out.

Emily looked at Bella and the girl just broke down. "Jump" Emily said and picked Bella up and ran circles on the girl's back.

"They won't hurt you anymore baby. You saw their parents. It's gonna be okay now" Emily said walking to the couch. She sat with Bella on her lap and Derek was sitting next to them.

"You're okay princess" he told Bella and Emily wiped the girl's face.

"Does anyone wants donuts?" Rossi said walking in with a box of donuts. He saw everyone's faces and asked. "What's going on?"

"Long story." Penelope said. "Give me my donuts" she said grabbing the box and making everyone laugh. Including Bella.

"You look so much better with one of these on" Derek said smiling talking about the girl's smile. Bella looked a little embarrassed.

"Let's eat" Emily smiled and made Bella get up. The girl's scratched her eyes with the back of her hand and then grabbed a donut.

She felt better that Mazzy and Yuna apologized and she just hoped they were not lying and that things would actually be better at school.

The grownups were happy at least two of the girls apologized and now their parents were aware of what was happening at school.

.

The rest of the day went fine.

Bella hung out in the conference room while Emily worked and later on they headed home. The girl was still a bit nervous about school but at least she knew now that Mazzy's dad was on her side and it looked like Yuna's parents were too. So she just hoped school would go okay.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Tuesday couldn't have gone any better.

Bella had PE but she told the teacher she got hurt and he let her just watch the class. After that the other classes went great too. Mazzy sat away from her "friends" but Yuna still sat with them. Luckily none of them said anything to Bella or Gavin or any of them.

After school Bella went to the office and told Emily she had a test on Wednesday.

"Did you study at all or did you leave it to the last minute?" Emily asked.

"I studied a little bit" Bella said. "There'll be tests till Friday" Bella added.

"A test. What subject?" Spencer asked walking to his desk.

"Tomorrow is Geography and English" Bella said.

"Do you want some help?" Reid asked.

Bella looked at Emily. She did want help from the genius.

"Go ahead" Emily smiled. Bella quickly got her books and went with Spencer to the conference room.

They spent the day studying. Bella loved learning from Spencer.

Around 6:30, Emily went to get her.

"Let's go home?" Emily asked.

"Just five more minutes" Spencer said and Emily smiled. The man went back to explaining geography to Bella and Emily left.

After a while Bella showed up.

"We're done" the girl said.

"Can we go home now?" Emily asked looking tired.

"Yes" Bella smiled and they headed home.

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"Did you like having Reid there to help you?" Emily asked as they put the dinner dishes in the dishwasher.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Are you sure he didn't complicate things?" Emily said knowing Reid could easily talk a lot.

"No. It was fine" Bella said.

"Good" Emily smiled.

They finished loading the dishwasher and sat to watch tv.

Later they showered and before going to bed Bella sat on her vanity and read her notes. She really liked studying with Spencer's help.

She went to bed confident about the test.

.

.

The next day, as she walked out of class she knew she did a great job. She went to the office after school and Reid wanted to know exactly what the teacher asked on the test. Emily smiled as Bella went on and on about what she answered at each question.

Bella said she had a science and a math test the next day so Reid volunteered to help her again, so to conference room they went. Reid helped her study while he worked on some papers. Bella was glad she had him to help her. So they studied till around 5:30 then Bella sat next to Emily while Emily worked on her desk.

After a little while Isabella's phone started ringing. It was Cameron.

"Hello" Bella said and walked away from the desks.

"Hi! I miss you so much tiny!" Cameron said. "How's everything?" She asked.

"Fine I guess" Bella said.

"So they are bad?" Cameron said just knowing.

"It's just…i'm getting bullied at school." Bella said.

"You are? Why didn't you tell me?" Cameron asked sounding upset.

"Because you couldn't do anything about it" Bella said.

"Well I could talk to you" Cameron said.

"I guess" Bella said.

"Look you're tough. I know you are. Don't let words hurt you" Cameron said.

"One of the girls pushed me the other day" Bella said.

"What?" Cameron asked now mad. She just wished she could protect Bella like before.

"It's fine now Cam. Don't worry. My mom took care of it" Bella said. "Well... Hopefully they'll stop." She added.

"They will. No one will want to mess with agent Prentiss, honey" Cameron smiled.

There was a bit of silence and then Bella said "I miss you." She took a deep breath and said "I miss how we were like before. Now it doesn't feel like that anymore."

Cameron felt so bad she had tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Bella. I'm just so busy here. You know what is like. And especially now that I'm a senior, I just have so many things to do."

Bella started remembering her time there and how much she hated it. She remembered her dad talking to her about the school and all she did was cry and say she didn't want to leave. Since John was sick and he didn't want her to see that, he forced her to go. She hated it. She cried almost every night. The only thing that brightened her days was when Emily, John, Jeremy and Shepherd called. Even though every call would end up with her begin to go home, she loved hearing their voices. While she was there she would see Emily maybe once every two months, her dad in the other hand she would just talk to on the phone or skype. Thinking about it now Bella remembered he always had a stupid beanie or hat on. She used to believe that it was just him being funny and trying to make her laugh but now she knew the real reason why. And she hated it.

"I have to go Cam. We can maybe talk another time" Bella said desperately wanting to hang up.

"Okay. I love you tiny. Bye" Cameron said.

"Bye" Bella said.

She simply hung up and ran to Emily.

Emily was working on a case file at her desk and Bella walked fast back in. Emily looked up and before she could say anything Bella sat on her lap and hugged her.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Emily asked as she felt Bella's body shudder as tears started falling.

She hugged the girl tightly and asked again.

"Do you promise me you will never never never send me to boarding school?" Bella said crying.

"Never" Emily said. She felt sorry for Bella. She always knew the girl hated that place and the only thing that she liked in there was Cameron. Emily had not agreed with John when he decided to send Bella. He then told her the real reason why Bella was going there. She tried to convince him not to send the girl but after he explained himself she thought maybe it would be best. While Bella was there, Emily tried visiting her as much as possible and she'd call almost every single day. It was months of the girl crying on the phone begging to go home. But eventually with Cameron's help Bella was okay in there.

Emily made Bella look at her and wiped the girl's face and asked "why are you crying because of this?"

"I was talking to Cameron and I think I just got scared" Bella said.

"Don't worry, alright? I'd never do that" Emily said smiling and wiping a tear that rolled on Bella's left cheek.

"Okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and Emily hugged her again.

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The rest of the day went fine.

Bella took a seat next to Emily and played on her ipad, then they headed home around 6:30.

Later that night as Bella watched tv, Shepherd called to see how she was doing and she was really happy to talk to him. He was in the hospital so when Callie walked past him he got her to say hi to Bella. The little girl loved hearing from them.

Derek was very surprised when Bella asked him if he had heard from Jeremy. She hadn't talk to him in a while. He had texted her but they hadn't REALLY talked about anything.

"He's alright. Just working a lot as always" Shepherd said.

They talked some more and then hung up.

Emily smiled as she noticed Bella was smiling when she put the phone down on the couch.

"How are they?" Emily asked smiling.

"Good" Bella said walking to sit next to Emily on the other couch.

Emily threw one arm around Bella and the girl relaxed on her mother's embrace.

They stayed silent for a while and then Bella said out of nowhere "I miss dad"

Emily hugged the girl tighter.

"I miss him too" Emily said running her fingers through the girl's hair.

They hugged and watched tv then later they headed to bed.

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 **(Thursday)**

That morning Emily was woken up by her phone at 6am.

It was Hotch calling.

They had to hurry over to Chicago. So she got up and got ready and then woke Bella up.

"Baby, wake up" Emily said soothing the girl's hair. "I have to go to work"

Bella opened her eyes and found Emily looking at her with a very sorry look on her face.

"Is it okay if you go to school with Chloe?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes. Emily knew Bella was probably upset even though she looked okay.

Emily hugged her and pulled her up. She gave the girl a kiss on the forehead. "Let's go " Emily said.

Bella got ready and they ate breakfast quickly. It was 6:38 when they headed to Hilary's apartment.

"Be careful, okay?" Bella said as they walked to Hilary's door.

"Always" Emily said throwing one arm around the child's shoulder.

Emily rang the bell and Hilary opened the door.

"Hi" Hilary said.

"Good morning." Emily said. "I'm sorry it's so early but I have a case and I was wondering if Bella could ride to school with you?"

"Oh of course" Hilary smiled. "Come on in."

"Thank you" Emily said.

"No worries" Hilary said.

"So I see you soon" Emily told Bella as she wrapped the girl in her arms.

"See you soon" Bella said.

Emily kissed the top of the girl's head. She was impressed at how okay Bella was with her leaving that morning.

"Please call" Bella said.

"I will" Emily said giving Bella a gentle push to walk inside. Bella stood next to Hilary and said "be careful"

"You too. Bye" Emily smiled, as she saw the girl had a little smile on her face, and Hilary closed the door.

"Chloe's asleep. Why don't you wake her up?" Hilary said smiling. Bella smiled and headed to Chloe's bedroom.

She shook her friend gently and said "wake up Chloe" but the girl didn't move. She smiled and started jumping on the bed. Cameron used to wake her up like that sometimes.

"Wake up wake up" Bella said as she jumped.

Chloe sat up and bursted into laughter. "What are you doing here?" Chloe asked. Bella sat on the bed and said "I'm going to school with you. My mom went on a case"

"Oh" Chloe said looking concern.

"It's fine. She'll be back soon" Bella said with a small smile and started jumping again. "Come on go get ready" she laughed and kept jumping.

Chloe laughed and suddenly Hilary walked in. "What's going on here?" She asked smiling. Bella sat down quickly and looked embarrassed.

"Go get ready Chloe. Hurry up" Hilary said smiling and headed back out.

Chloe got up and started getting ready. Bella sat with them while they head breakfast and then they headed to school.

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School was fine up till test time.

Bella went to the bathroom before the test started and as she was washing her hands, Vanessa walked in.

"Hey shrimpy" the girl said.

Bella froze.

"What? Now you're scared? You weren't scared when you talked to the principal, were you?" Vanessa said and Bella just stood there.

"If you hurt me I'll go straight there again." Bella said looking serious as she tried to hide how scared she was.

"If you do that, you're gonna wish you were never born" Vanessa said taking a step closer to Bella who couldn't help but look scared. "I'm serious. If you think you can do this to me and go on without consequences you are very wrong" Vanessa said. "I'm going to make your life miserable here and guess what? There's nothing they can do about it" she said.

Bella could feel her face burning. She ran out of the bathroom. She felt like everything she was afraid would happen was happening. She knew Vanessa would be mad.

Bella walked to a water fountain, drank some water and headed to class.

She did her test and just felt horrible. She couldn't remember anything. All she could think about was Vanessa and her threats. She was just so scared. She stayed till the last minute and when the teacher went to get her tests she had tears in her eyes. She just knew she was going to fail that. She handed it to the teacher and walked out.

"Why did it take you so long?" Chloe asked when Bella walked to them.

Bella got there and stayed quiet.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"My mom is gonna kill me" Bella said taking her hand to her forehead.

"What? Why?" Gavin asked.

"I think I failed" Bella said.

"No you didn't. Come one Bella you're so smart. Way smarter than us. There's no way you failed that" Gavin said.

Bella just looked down.

"Let's go?" She said to Gavin after a while.

They said goodbye to Rose and Chloe and walked to their bus.

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Bella got to the BAU and went to Penelope's office.

She tried not to look so down and kept saying in her head that maybe she did do okay, maybe she was just freaking out.

 **.**

The day went fine.

Bella didn't seem upset that Emily was away, which made Penelope very happy.

Bella studied for her other tests the next day and then she just hung out in the lair while Penelope worked. Penelope had to stay the night in there so Bella changed her clothes and Garcia got her some blankets and the girl fell asleep just after 10pm.

Penelope pulled the blankets up and gave the girl's cheek a kiss.

"Sleep tight baby Prentiss" Penelope whispered and then sat on her chair to work.

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 **(Friday)**

The day went okay.

Bella was a little scared as she walked inside the school but Vanessa just stayed away. She did look at Bella in a scary way but didn't say anything. Isabella went inside the classroom and her friends had saved her seat in the front.

"Are you going to choir today?" Gavin asked as Bella sat down.

"yeah! We miss you in there" Chloe said.

"We'll have a recital thing soon" Gavin said and Bella smiled.

"Come with us today" Chloe said.

"I don't even know if I'm still in it. It's been so long" Bella said.

"Oh come on. Mister Levi loves you" Chloe said. James Levi was the choir director.

"yeah. Remember the whole Broadway star thing?" Gavin said and Bella laughed.

"please B." Chloe said.

"fine" Bella said. "let me tell Penelope" she added getting her phone out. She texted Penelope and the woman was super excited the girl wanted to stay for choir.

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Later that day they did the test and Bella walked out feeling more confident about her grades then the day before.

"Ready for some singing? " Chloe asked excited.

"Sure" Bella said laughing.

They walked inside the choir room and Bella couldn't help but feel nervous. It had been a while.

"Look who is back" James Levi said smiling and walking to them. Two women followed him, one with blonde hair and the other with light brown hair. Bella thought the blonde one looked familiar and she definitely knew who the light brown hair woman was.

"hi" Bella said a little embarrassed. In her head all she could think was "why are they here? How are they here? Oh my god" She was trying hard not to freak out.

"How are you?" Mister Levi asked.

"good" Bella said with a small smile.

"These are my friends Bonnie and Laura. They're assisting" James Levi said.

Bella smiled as she finally remembered Bonnie. Of course she knew who Bonnie Milligan and Laura Osnes were.

"This is Isabella" James said.

"I've heard wonderful things about you" Laura said and Bella looked super embarrassed.

"Your seat awaits" James said smiling as he notice the girl was really shy.

Bella smiled and walked with Gavin and Chloe to their seats.

"you're back!" Andy said smiling excited. He was the older kid that sang with Bella on the first class.

Bella smiled at him and sat down.

"crazy they're here right?" Andy said and Bella nodded with her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it.

Suddenly Vanessa walked in. Bella froze. She completely forgot the girl was in choir too. The girl sat on the far back corner. Luckily very far away from Isabella.

"Well, as most of you may know our big music recital is coming up." Mister Levi said looking directly to Isabella. "we've been rehearsing a two numbers. Number 1 is a Disney Medley and number 2 is a Women in Musical Theater Medley. I already assigned all the solos and I hope everyone is rehearsing at home too" He said letting Bella know what had been done while she was away.

The class/rehearsal went on and Bella had a lot of fun. She loved the numbers they would perform.

When the bell rang, the students started walking out and Mister Levi called Bella to his desk.

"We'll wait outside" Gavin said and Bella walked to the teacher.

"I'm very happy you're back" He said. "and I'm sorry you won't have a solo"

"That's okay" Bella said with a small smile. She was very shy since the two women were sitting next to him.

"When I was writing the soloists you were in butt you stopped coming so I had to give it to someone else" He explained.

"it's alright Mister Levi" Bella said.

"I'm sorry for that. You're really good. So how about if I make you an understudy?" He said.

Bella just looked at him and smiled shyly.

"Would you like to be that?" He asked.

"Sure" Bella said. "But to who?" she asked.

"Andy for the boy soloists and you for the girls. How about that?" He said.

"okay" Bella said.

"on Monday you have to make sure you won't miss rehearsal."

"I won't" Bella said.

"Alright. So at home you have to rehearse the solo parts and then on Monday we'll run through the whole thing with the understudies doing all the solos to make sure you guys got it. Okay?" He said.

"alright" Bella said.

"So I see you on Monday" James Levi said.

"see you Monday" Bella smiled.

"Bye Bella" Bonnie said smiling.

"Bye" Bella said shyly and walked outside.

"She's adorable" Laura said.

 **.**

Outside Chloe and Gavin were waiting.

"What did he want?" Gavin asked excited.

"He made me an understudy" Bella said.

"Really?! That's awesome!" Chloe said.

"Oh but we know no soloist is going to miss the performance" Bella said.

"You never know" Gavin said and they started walking out.

As they walked outside to go to the bus Bella smiled as she saw Emily standing there waiting for her.

"Bye guys" the girl said quickly.

Bella walked to her and Emily gave the girl a big hug.

"You're back already?!" Bella said.

"This one was quick huh?" Emily said smiling and Bella smiled. "Do you want to go to the mall with me?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella smiled and they went to the car.

"How was choir today?" Emily asked as she drove out of her parking spot.

"It was so amazing" Bella said excited.

"wow that good?" Emily smiled.

"You have no idea Mom! Bonnie and Laura were there, and we're rehearsing for this show and Mister Levi made me the understudy." Bella said super-fast and Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"Honey, slow down" Emily said smiling.

"Bonnie and Laura were there" Bella said.

"Who's Bonnie and Laura?" Emily asked confused.

"Bonnie Milligan and Laura Osnes" Bella said.

"Laura? Cinderella Laura?" Emily asked still confused.

"Exactly!" Bella said with a big smile "They are his friends." Bella said.

"That's awesome Bella" Emily said.

"Yeah. When he said they'd be special guest I thought it was just other teachers" Bella said remembering what James had said in the first class.

"And you're an understudy?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. He said I had a solo but since I stopped going he gave it to someone else so he made me an understudy but I don't think anyone will miss" Bella said.

"You never know" Emily smiled. She was so happy with how excited Bella was.

That child's smile was everything Emily ever wished for.

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They went to the mall.

In there, Rose came up in a conversation and Emily suggested that Bella should invited her friends to go to the pool on the weekend so Bella called them as Emily tried on a dress.

They walked around for what it felt like forever. Bella was getting tired and hungry so Emily decided to go to the food court to eat. It was almost 8pm. Bella got McDonald's and Emily ate pasta from an Italian place. After eating they went home. Emily had bought a blouse and a dress for her and a dress for Bella, and also a movie.

When they got home Bella looked really tired.

"Baby, go get ready for bed and then we can watch the movie we bought" Emily said.

The girl did what she was told and walked back downstairs. Emily had taken a shower too so they sat together on the couch to watch the movie.

"Did you have a good day?" Emily asked.

"An awesome day" Bella smiled looking right at her mother's eyes.

Emily smiled back. She couldn't be happier.

Bella rested her head on Emily's chest as Emily had her arm around the girl. It didn't take very long for Bella to fall asleep. Emily finished watching the movie and then carried Bella upstairs. She laid Bella on the bed, covered the girl up and headed to her own bedroom. She watched some tv in there and fell asleep around 11:30.

…


	63. Chapter 63: Finally

…

 **(Saturday)**

It was 1:40am when Bella jumped awake with a scream.

Emily jumped awake with the sound of the girl's scream and ran to Isabella's bedroom.

She found the girl crying and hugging Tramp and Duffy tightly.

"Shuuuu. It's okay. It was just a bad dream" Emily said sitting on the bed and hugging the girl.

"It wasn't" Bella said trying to relax in her mother's embrace.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"It was like a memory. I don't know" Bella said.

"A memory? Of what?" Emily asked.

"Of when I ran" Bella cried.

"When you got lost?"

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Oh honey" Emily said.

"Did Aaron get that guy?" Bella asked.

"Not yet baby" Emily said feeling bad.

"Why not?" Bella asked clearly scared.

"Because we don't have much on him yet." Emily said. "But they are working on it" Emily said even though she didn't know if they were still working on that or not.

"Can he come here?" Bella asked.

"No one is coming here" Emily said soothing the girl's hair.

"How do you know that?" Bella asked.

"Bella he doesn't know who you are" Emily said. "He didn't even run after you. Remember?" She said and Bella nodded. The girl was calmer now.

"Come on, let's sleep. It's late" Emily said laying down on Isabella's bed. The girl laid down and hugged her mother.

"I'm sorry" Bella said feeling bad for having nightmares and waking Emily up.

"Don't apologize for this baby. There's nothing wrong with having a bad dream" Emily said. She kept running her hand on the child's back till the little one was asleep.

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That morning Emily woke up around 9 and called Hotch immediately to talk about when Isabella got lost. Aaron told her they had nothing but a description from the victim, Brian. He said the picture was out there but there was nothing else they could do at the moment. Of course Emily understood but she did wish she had better news to tell her daughter.

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Bella woke up around 10:30 and Emily was making pancakes.

"Good morning" Emily smiled.

"Morning" Bella said walking to her and hugging her from behind while she cooked.

"Is everything alright?" Emily asked and Bella let go of the hug.

"Yes" Bella said not actually looking like it was okay.

"I talked to Hotch. There are no signs of the man. Hotch also said you are not in danger whatsoever" Emily said hugging Bella. "He doesn't know who you are baby" Emily added.

"I know but it's scary anyways" Bella said letting go of the hug.

"I know" Emily said. "But you're safe. I promise"

Bella gave her a small smile and went to the fridge and got some juice.

They ate breakfast and then sat to watch some tv.

"When are your friends coming?" Emily asked after a while.

The girl didn't look very excited and said "I don't think I'm up for a play date today"

"Oh honey, I want to meet Rose. And yesterday you were so excited" Emily said.

Bella just looked a bit down. "Come on, it will be fun"

"Fine" Bella said laying her head on Emily's lap. "There'll be here around 2" she said.

Emily smiled and they went back to watching tv.

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They ate lunch around 1 and then went to change their clothes. They put swim suits on and sat in the living room again to wait for Bella's friends. It wasn't long till Chloe showed up. Then a while later Gavin and then Rose.

"Mom this is Rose, rose this is my mom Emily" Bella said.

"Wow she does look like you" Rose said and everyone smiled.

"Come on in" Emily said and Rose walked in and followed the kids to Bella's room. Emily talked to the girl's mother and said what the plans were for the day. Then her mother left and Emily went to get the kids so they could go to the pool.

The day couldn't have gone any better.

Bella had so much fun in the pool with her friends. Emily just loved hearing the kids laughing, and watching them play. They had a really good day.

The kids headed home around 7:30 after showering and eating pizza.

Bella and Emily sat to watch some tv and Bella said "I'm glad I didn't cancel it. It was really fun"

Emily smiled "yeah" she said. "Ro is very nice" Emily said.

"Yeah" Bella smiled.

Emily was happy for her baby.

 **.**

They watched tv shows and movies till around 11. Emily was really tired so she told Bella it was time to go to bed.

"I'm not tired mom" Bella lied.

Emily made a face as if it was obvious the girl was lying. "Come on" Emily said. "You can sleep on my bed" she said grabbing Isabella's hand. They headed upstairs. Bella went to her bedroom and got her things and then headed to Emily's. When the girl walked in Emily was putting a movie on.

"Weren't YOU tired?" Bella asked.

"It's for you" Emily said walking to the bed.

Both laid down and Emily pressed play. It was 'Matilda'.

"Good choice" Bella smiled and Emily smiled too.

The movie started and it wasn't long till Emily fell asleep. Bella watched almost half of it and then slept too. Luckily they had a peaceful night.

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 **(Sunday)**

Bella woke up to find Emily changing her clothes in the closet.

"Are you going out?" Bella asked.

"We need groceries" Emily said. "I was about to wake you up."

Bella walked to her and hugged her and said good morning.

"Good morning bunny" Emily smiled. "Go get ready. Quickly" she said and the girl walked out smiling.

Bella took a quick shower and got dressed.

"All done?" Emily asked walking in the girl's bedroom.

"Yeah" Bella said brushing her hair.

"Let's go then. There's a Starbucks in there. How about we eat breakfast there?" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella smiled and they headed out.

At Starbucks they both got muffins, Emily got coffee and Bella wanted hot chocolate. Once they were done they got what they had to and headed back home. Bella helped Emily with all the bags and then helped put everything where it was supposed to go.

"So we could make this pizza for lunch. What do you think?" Emily asked holding a pepperoni pizza they had bought.

"Sure" Bella said.

They finished organizing it all and then Emily sat to watch tv while Bella rehearsed for the choir performance in her bedroom.

From time to time Emily could hear the girl singing from downstairs. She couldn't help but smile.

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That night as Bella was getting ready to go to bed she got a call from Cameron.

"Hi" Bella said.

"Is everything okay? The other day you just hung up" Cameron said.

"Yeah it's fine" Bella said sitting on her bed.

"So how's everything at school? Did those girls leave you alone?" Cameron asked.

"Sorta" Bella said.

"What do you mean?"

"One still said something to me but yeah... It's fine now I guess" Bella answered.

Suddenly Emily walked in. "It's a school night" she said. It was getting pretty late.

"Cam, I have to go." Bella said.

"School night I know. I should be sleeping too" Cameron said and Bella laughed.

"We can talk some other time" Bella said.

"Of course" Cameron said.

"Bye" Bella said.

"Bye. I love you" Cameron said.

"Love you too. Bye" Bella said and hung up.

Emily was still standing there.

"Who was it?"

"Cameron" Bella said. She was happy she was talking more with her nowadays.

"How is she?" Emily asked.

"Fine… and very busy as always" Bella said.

"Well, you're the one who will be busy this week with all the rehearsals" Emily smiled sitting next to Bella and tucking her in.

Bella smiled.

"I heard you today and you're really good" Emily smiled.

"Thanks" Bella said slightly embarrassed.

Emily gave her a kiss and said goodnight.

"Night mommy. I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily smiled and walked to the door. She turned the night light on and the ceiling light off and closed the door slightly. She headed to bed and it wasn't long till they were both sleeping.

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 **(Monday)**

School couldn't have gone any better.

All 4 kids had a great day and Bella had so much fun rehearsing for the performance. She got some extra time with Laura and Bonnie since she was an understudy and she loved it.

"How was it?" Gavin asked when Bella walked out of the choir room. He was waiting for her so they could go on the bus together.

"It was awesome" Bella said smiling.

"Did they say something? Like about how good you are" Gavin asked.

"Yeah. They said I'm pretty good" Bella smiled embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed! And please don't forget me when you give your Tony speech" Gavin said and they bursted into laughter.

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When Bella got to the BAU, Emily was excited to know how school went. Bella sat on a chair next to her mother's and just went on and on about the choir practice. She said she had another rehearsal on Wednesday.

"You should invite everyone" Emily said talking about the team.

"Do you think they'd go?" Bella asked.

"Are you kidding me? I know they'd love to go" Emily smiled.

"But it's on a Friday night. What if you're all on a case or something?" Bella said.

"I promise that I'll be here" Emily said.

"Do you really promise?" Bella asked.

"I do" Emily smiled and Bella smiled back.

"And look... Do you really think Penelope would miss this thing?" Emily asked making a face.

"No" Bella laughed.

"Go invite them" Emily smiled and Bella went.

The girl was excited. They were her family after all and she wanted them to go.

"Spencer?" Bella said standing in front of Reid's desk. Emily kept watching.

"Yes. Do you need any help studying today?" Reid asked excited.

"Oh no. It's just... Ummn" Bella said. "It's just that next week on Friday I have a choir thing at school and I was wondering if you wanted to come"

"Of course" Reid said smiling.

"It's Friday at 6:30. So if you can't because you're working I understand" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"Okay" Reid smiled and Bella smiled back.

The girl walked to the conference room where Derek and Rossi were.

"Excuse me" Bella said at the door.

"Come on in" Rossi smiled and Bella walked in.

"everything good princess?" Derek asked her.

"yeah yeah…Ummn I just wanted to invite both of you to a choir thing at my school next week on Friday" she said.

"Will you sing?" Rossi asked.

"Yup" Bella said shyly.

"We'll be there" Rossi said with a smile and Bella smiled too.

"It starts at 6:30" she said.

"Okay" Rossi said and the girl ran out.

"That was cute" Rossi told Derek.

"It was" Derek said and they laughed.

Bella headed to Penelope's lair. JJ was in there too.

She knocked on the door and said "Penny, it's Bella, can I come in?"

"Sure" Penelope said.

Bella walked in and Penelope was already with her arms opened waiting for a hug.

"Everything good, munchkin?" Garcia asked.

"Yup" Bella smiled letting go of the hug. "Well I just want to invite you guys to the choir performance next week. It's on Friday at 6:30." Bella said.

"I'll be front row" Penelope said excited.

Bella laughed.

"You can take Henry too" Bella told JJ.

"I will" JJ smiled.

"Oh and Will" Bella added.

Suddenly Emily walked in.

"Let's go?" She asked Bella and the girl nodded yes. "Did you invite everyone?"

"Yeah... Oh no! Where's Hotch?" Bella said.

"In his office" Emily said and Bella ran there.

The women laughed.

"She excited for this huh?" JJ said.

"She is" Emily smiled. She was very happy.

 **.**

Bella knocked on Hotch's door and he told her to come in.

"Sorry to bother sir but I just wanted to invite you to my school.. Umm choir performance on Friday at 6:30. Next week" Bella said.

"Can I take Jack?" Hotch asked.

"Sure" Bella smiled and Hotch gave her a small smile.

"Bye" she said.

"Bye" Hotch said and Bella went to find Emily so they could go home.

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 **(Tuesday)**

"Wake up sleeping beauty" Emily said running her hand on the child's back. Bella moved a little and then opened her eyes. "Bon jour" Emily smiled.

"Morning" Bella said sounding sleepy.

"Time for school. Come on" Emily said.

Bella got up and they went to get ready. Once done they ate breakfast and headed out the door. The night before Hilary had texted Emily asking if she could take the girls so they stopped at Hilary's apartment. Millie was very excited to ride to school with Bella. The three girls sat on the back and Emily smiled the entire drive as the girls giggled from the backseat.

"Bye guys, have a good day" Emily said as the kids got out of the car.

"Bye mom. I love you" Bella said at the window.

Emily smiled and waved and they walked inside.

School went okay up till the last class.

The test results were delivered.

And Bella was not happy.

The teacher handed her the report and she turned around to see. She felt her heart beating faster when she saw a C- and a D- in there.

"My mom's gonna kill me" she whispered.

She always got As.

Always!

She took her hands to her head and just thought of what she would tell Emily. She had no idea how to explain what happened.

"What's wrong?" Gavin asked.

"Remember I said I didn't do very well the other day?" Bella said.

"Yeah?" Chloe said.

"I didn't" Bella said.

"What did you get?" Rose asked.

"Mostly As. But I got C- and D-. And my mom's is gonna be so mad" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Hey don't cry. It's gonna be okay. You'll do better next time" Chloe said. "Your mom won't be mad"

"I never got bad grades" Bella said about to cry.

Chloe sat next to her and threw one arm around her. "Don't cry Bella. It's okay. It's just a C and D. You didn't fail" she said.

Bella wiped tears that escaped and suddenly the bell rang.

"Let's go?" Gavin said.

Bella nodded and they got their backpacks and headed out. They said their goodbyes and Gavin and Bella headed to their bus.

As they walked outside the school Gavin could see Bella was really nervous. "Hey don't worry. I don't think your mom will be mad" He said.

"I hope she won't" Bella said.

"It's gonna be fine" he told her and they got on the bus.

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Bella walked in the BAU and she felt her heart beating so fast. She had no idea of what Emily would say. It had never happened before.

"Hey" Derek said and gave her a hug as she stepped out of the elevator.

"Have you seen my mom?" Bella asked trying to act normal.

"At her desk" he smiled and walked away.

Bella walked to Emily's desk and Emily greeted with a smile but Bella stayed serious.

"What happened?" Emily asked as she noticed the girl's serious face.

Bella took the report card and put on the desk without saying a word.

Emily picked it up and saw the reason the girl was so serious.

"Bella" Emily said with a disappointed face. Bella felt horrible and looked down at the floor. "What happened here?" Emily asked.

"I don't know" Bella said on the verge of tears. "Please don't be mad" she begged.

Emily felt horrible for the girl and she knew that with everything the kid had been through it was normal to affect school and things like that.

"Come here" she said. Bella walked to her, put her bag on the floor, and sat on her lap.

Emily hugged her. She wasn't mad. She knew she had to discipline the girl somehow so she would know that was not okay but she was not mad.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry" Bella cried.

Emily just kept running her hand on the girl's back.

"I thought you studied a lot for those exams?" Emily said.

"I did but then when I got there I just forgot. I tried really hard but I couldn't remember anything" Bella said. "Please don't be mad" the child added.

"Oh honey I'm not mad." Emily said. "But I'm gonna need to take away your iPad for a week, alright?" She added.

"Okay" Bella said. "But don't me mad" she had stopped crying now.

"I'm not mad. But you'll need to study harder for the next one, okay? 'Cause it's not okay to let it keep happening." Emily said.

"It won't" Bella said.

"Do you promise?" Emily said and Bella nodded yes.

"Where's your iPad?" Emily asked.

"On my bag" Bella said.

"Go get it" Emily said.

Bella stood up and went down to the floor to get it. She gave it to Emily, who put it on a drawer, and then sat on the chair next to her mother.

"And no using Penelope's, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and wiped her face.

Emily felt bad for Bella. She knew how smart the girl was and how she was always proud of her grades.

"Hey" Emily said and Bella looked at her. "What's done is done. Crying and being upset won't change it. You just have to work harder next time" Emily said.

"Do you think Dad would mad? He would be wouldn't he?" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears again.

"No baby. He wouldn't be mad. I think he would have grounded you like I did and make you study more next time. But he wouldn't be mad" Emily said.

Bella pushed away the tears.

"Why don't you read a little huh?" Emily said knowing that would help.

Bella got a book out of her bag and started reading it. After a while she looked at Emily and said "mom, please don't tell Spencer"

"I won't" Emily said with an understanding look.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Emily got to the BAU and soon after she was out on her way to the jet. She texted Bella letting the girl know they were going to L.A. for a missing child case.

Bella knew those cases. 'Be careful. Love you, B'. She texted back.

Emily smiled and put her phone away.

In LA they worked nonstop to find the little boy while in DC Bella had a good day at school.

When she walked inside, Chloe was the first one to say hello and ask about how Emily reacted to her grades.

"No iPad for week" Bella said.

"That's it?" Rose said.

"I think she was upset but she didn't tell me. She said she wasn't mad though" Bella said.

"I told you she wouldn't be, didn't I?" Gavin said and they walked to class.

All the classes went okay and then they headed to choir. Isabella loved it but she just hated the fact that Vanessa was in there too.

They ran each song twice, and Mister Levi could see Bella looked a bit down. So after they were done he asked her to go to his desk.

"Are you upset about your parts or something?" He asked. He had dealt with kids that would get upset over those things.

"No" Bella said as she was saying the obvious.

"Why do you look so down then?" Laura asked. She was sitting next to Levi.

"Bad grades" Vanessa said as she walked behind Bella and walked out of the room.

"That's Vanessa, right?" Bonnie asked Levi.

"Yeah" he said. "Is she still bullying you? Is that why you're upset?" He asked Bella. All the teachers had been told to keep an eye on Vanessa and her friends.

"No" Bella said. "and I did get bad grades. Well… just two"

"You did?" Levi asked surprised. Every teacher in that school knew Isabella was really smart.

"I got a C- and D-. I just couldn't remember anything" Bella said.

"Does your mom know?" He asked, thinking maybe she would be scared of her mother's reaction.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"You know what Bella? I got Cs in math all the time. I'm not saying that's good thing but it's also not the end of world. It's just a grade. You'll do better next time" Bonnie said.

"Yeah. We know you're smart. You just had bad day" Laura said and Bella gave them a small smile.

"Oh that looks way better on you" Bonnie smiled and Bella smiled shyly.

"Keep working hard and you'll get an A super quick" Mister Levi said.

"If choir had grades I'd give you an A+" Bonnie said and Bella laughed.

"That does look better" Laura said agreeing with Bonnie about the girl's smile.

"So I see you on Friday?" Mister Levi said.

"Yup." Bella said. "Bye" she smiled.

"Bye" Bonnie, Laura and James said and Bella walked out.

"She needs to be on a show guys. She's too cute" Bonnie said and her friends laughed.

 **.**

"What happened?" Gavin asked as Bella walked to him.

"They wanted to know why I was a bit down" Bella said.

"Was it because of your grades?" Gavin asked.

"Yup" Bella said.

"Did you tell them about it?" Gavin asked.

"Vanessa did" Bella said.

"What? What do you mean Vanessa did?"

"They asked me what was wrong and she walked past us and said bad grades" Bella said.

"She's so stupid" Gavin said.

"Yeah. But at least they made me feel better about it" Bella said with a smile.

"Good" Gavin smiled too. "So let's go?"

"Yup" Bella said and they headed to the bus.

Outside they walked past Vanessa and the girl just stared at them while they smiled at each other while talking about choir.

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At the BAU Bella hung out in Penelope's office. She did her homework, took a little nap and then read a few chapters of a book. Penelope had to stay the night so Bella got her go bag and took a shower then went back to Penelope's office, ate and laid down on the couch. She read for a while and then fell asleep.

.

In LA, the team was working hard to find the little boy before it was too late.

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 **(Thursday)**

Penelope woke Bella up and the girl got ready for school then Penelope drove her. They stopped to get. They ate and then headed to the school.

"I'll see you later munchkin" Penelope said.

"Bye" Bella smiled and walked in.

School went great that day.

As Bella walked inside the school, Vanessa started to walk to her but out of nowhere Yuna appeared and held Vanessa's arm and said "Stop. Just leave her alone"

Bella quickly walked to her classroom.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Vanessa asked Yuna.

"Nothing it's just. I think it's enough" Yuna said.

"You don't get to think here" Vanessa said. "If you wanna stay with us just shut up. Or you can do like Mazzy and become a loser and a loner" she said.

"Maybe I will" Yuna said and walked away.

Vanessa just stood there looking furious.

 **.**

Inside the classroom Bella was speechless.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"It looks like you've seen a ghost" Gavin said.

"I think Yuna just defended me" Bella said.

"What?" Gavin and Chloe said at the same time in disbelief.

"Vanessa was walking to me and Yuna held her arm and told her to stop. So I ran here" Bella said.

"You're joking" Gavin said.

"I'm not" Bella said and suddenly Yuna walked in.

They stopped talking and just stared at her. The girl walked and sat next to Mazzy. Vanessa walked in and sat on the back next to Gail.

"Wow" Chloe said in disbelief.

"Good morning" said the teacher as he walked in. So the kids payed attention to the class and just kind of forgot about the girls.

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When school was over, Bella was super excited to find her mother waiting outside for her.

She walked outside the school and Vanessa started walking to her but when Bella saw Emily she smiled and said "Mom!"

So Vanessa just walked past her. Bella ran to Emily and hugged her.

Of course Emily noticed Vanessa.

"You're back" Bella said.

"Mall again today?" Emily asked and Bella smiled and nodded yes.

"Did you find the kid?" Bella asked.

"We did" Emily said proudly. The case had an amazing ending. They found the boy and he was okay.

Emily took Bella's hand and they walked to the car.

"Bella, was Vanessa walking to you?" Emily asked as they buckled up.

"What?" Bella asked confused. She didn't even notice the girl.

"I think she was. When you saw me she just kept walking instead of stopping to talk to you" Emily said. "Did she do anything else that you didn't tell me?" Emily asked worried.

"No" Isabella lied.

"Bella don't lie to me." She said.

"I'm not" Bella said.

Emily just gave her a look.

"Mom, she didn't. Let's just go to the mall. I don't wanna talk about this" Bella said.

"Bella if she does anything you have to tell me" Emily said serious.

"I know" Bella said. "Can we just go to the mall now?" Bella said looking out the window.

"Fine" Emily said and started driving. Maybe the school parking lot wasn't the best place to talk about that, she thought.

So to the mall they went.

They had a great time there and then headed home.

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Around 8, Bella was sitting in the living room watching tv all ready for bed. Emily finished showering and getting ready and went to sit next to her.

"Come here" Emily said and pulled Bella to her lap. "I need to snuggle you tonight" Emily said and Bella smiled. Every time Emily had a case involving children, she would get home and want to stay close to Bella.

So that night Bella stayed in Emily's bedroom.

Both very thankful to be together again.

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 **(Friday)**

"Hey monkey, wake up." Emily said running her hands on Isabella's back. "Time for school" she sang and Bella opened her eyes. "Hi" Emily said. Bella smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother.

"Did you sleep okay?" Emily asked and Bella nodded letting go of the hug. "Good" Emily said and placed a kiss on the girl's forehead. "Go get ready. Come on" Emily said and both got out of bed.

They took a quick shower and got dressed then headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Cheerios or Corn Flakes?" Emily asked.

"Cheerios" Bella said as she finished combing her wet hair.

Emily poured some milk and some Cheerios on a bowl and handed to the girl. "Let me help" Emily said taking the brush from Bella. She started combing it and then asked "Do you want braids?"

"No. Just leave it down today" Bella said.

"Okay" Emily said.

"Oh! Actually, can you do just one like on my bangs? Like those French braids that's just right here?" Bella said putting her hand where she wanted the braid.

"Of course I can" Emily said and did. "It looks adorable" she smiled when she was done.

Bella had finished eating so she went to the bathroom to check. "It does" the girl said smiling. "Thanks mom" Bella said and ran upstairs to get her bag.

Emily put the dishes on the sink and they headed out the door.

 **.**

"You have choir today, right?" Emily asked as she parked the car in front of the school.

"Yeah. I'll go on the bus with Gavin, don't worry" Bella said unbuckling.

"Alright. I love you" Emily said and gave Bella a kiss on the cheek.

Bella kissed her back and said "I love you too. Bye" and walked out of the car.

"Bye" Emily said. Bella shut the door and walked to the school. At the top of the stairs she looked back and waved at Emily who waved back and drove away. Bella went in and smiled when she saw her friends waiting.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you guys for the practice today?" Rose asked them.

"10" Chloe, Gavin and Bella said at the same time.

"I can't believe it's just a week away" Chloe said.

"It went by so fast" Gavin said and they walked inside the classroom.

All the classes went okay. The kids would chat from time to time and they had a great time at lunch. When the last bell rang, Rose said goodbye and Gavin, Chloe and Bella headed to put their bags on their lockers so they could go to the choir practice.

"We have to go to the theater today" Gavin said.

"Oh yeah" Chloe said excited and they went.

As they walked to the theater, Vanessa appeared in front of them out of nowhere. She had been waiting for them.

"Hey" she said.

The three friends stopped.

Bella looked around and that hallway was empty. Pretty much everyone that was in choir was already in the theater and the other students were outside waiting for their parents or on the buses.

"What do you want?" Gavin asked serious.

"Well... Someone had the guts to go to the principal. And apparently my friends are so scared now." Vanessa said looking at Bella. "And that's not right" she added walking closer to them.

"We did nothing wrong, okay? You started this. You bullied us and we just did what was right!" Chloe said fast.

"You shut up" Vanessa said angry almost screaming as she took a step to Chloe.

"Leave her alone" Bella said stepping in front of Chloe.

Vanessa didn't think twice and pushed Bella. It was such a strong push that Bella went to the ground. Bella put her right hand on the floor first and a scream came out of her mouth.

"Oh my god" Laura said as Mister Levi and her turned the corner to that hallway quickly when they head the girl's scream.

Isabella sat up and held her right wrist with her other hand. It was hurting so bad she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Chloe went down "calm down it's okay" she told Bella.

"What happened here?" Mister Levi asked walking to them.

"Vanessa pushed her." Gavin said serious.

Laura went down to the floor to check on Bella who was crying.

"Did you land on your arm?" Laura asked.

"On my hand" Bella said. "It hurts really bad" She said crying.

"Look at me. You're gonna be okay. Calm down" Laura said running her hand on the girl's back. "Let's get up" she said. She helped Bella get up and Vanessa just stood there not sure of what she should do. She didn't look sorry at all.

"I'm gonna take her to see the nurse" Laura said. "Can you come too Chloe?"

"Sure" Chloe said and they started walking to the nurse station.

"Gavin can you go in and tell Bonnie what happened and tell her to go on with the rehearsal?" Levi asked and Gavin nodded and went.

"And you are going straight to the principal's office Vanessa" Mister Levi said.

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"Calm down sweetie" Laura said.

"I think I broke my wrist" Bella said.

"It's going to be okay. I promise you" Laura said as they got to the nurse station.

"What happened?" The nurse asked.

"She fell" Laura said.

"Was this Vanessa again, Bella?" The nurse asked and Bella nodded.

"I want my mom" Bella said crying.

"She'll be here soon" the nurse said. "Let me check your wrist" she said.

Bella walked to the table and laid her arm there.

"It's swollen." The nurse said. "Can you move your fingers for me?" She asked and Bella moved them a little.

"Does that hurt?"

"Yeah" Bella said trying to take control of her breathing.

"Where exactly does it hurt?" The nurse asked.

"Here" Bella said showing where.

"It could be just a sprain but she'll need an x-ray to make sure. So she needs to go to the E.R." The nurse said.

"What should I do?" Laura asked.

"Let's take her to see Mister Jones first" the nurse said and suddenly the principal walked in followed by Levi.

"We were heading to your office sir" the nurse said.

"Did she break her arm?" He asked worried.

"It could be just a sprain but she needs an X-ray" the nurse said.

"Oh God" he said taking his hand to his head.

"I can take her if you want" Mister Levi said knowing someone from the school would have to go.

"I'll go too" Laura said.

"Is that alright Isabella?" Mister Jones asked.

"Is my mom gonna be there?" She asked.

"I'm going to call her right now and tell her to meet you at St. Mary's" he said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Can I go?" Chloe asked.

"I'm sorry but they can't take you" the principal said and Chloe looked upset.

"Chloe, why don't you go to practice and help Miss Bonnie huh? She's alone in there she needs help and we got Bella don't worry" Laura said.

"Okay" Chloe said and walked out.

"Let's go then?" Mister Levi said.

"Here put an ice pack on it" the nurse said handing the ice pack to Laura.

Bella held her wrist again and they walked to Mister Levi's car. She sat on the back with Laura and the woman helped her keep the ice pack on her wrist. Bella couldn't stop crying.

"Lay your head here" Laura said singing her shoulder and Bella did what she was told.

"It hurts" the girl said.

"You're going to be okay" was all Laura could say. She felt horrible for the girl. She had never seen a case of bullying so close and especially so bad.

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At the office Emily was in the conference room working on some profiles with Derek and Hotch, when her phone rang.

"Agent Prentiss" she said not recognizing the number.

"Hello, this is Carl Jones" the principal said and Emily froze.

"Yes" she said.

"Miss Prentiss I'm really sorry but Vanessa hurt your daughter again" Carl said.

"She what?" Emily said angry. Hotch and Derek looked concern.

"She pushed Bella and she ended up hurting her wrist. She was taken to the ER for X-rays" he said.

"What hospital?" Emily asked. Derek's eyes widened.

"St. Mary's" he said.

"I'll be there in minute" Emily said.

"Please once you're done there I'd like to talk to you in my office" he said.

"Okay" Emily said and hung up. She just had to get to Bella.

"What's happened?" Hotch asked.

"Bella is in the hospital" Emily said sounding angry as she stood up. "I have to go" she said and simply walked out.

"Can I-?" Derek started asking but Hotch cut him off and said "go".

Derek ran after Emily.

"I'm going with you" he said and Emily just kept walking.

They headed to the car and Derek drove to the hospital.

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Bella walked inside the ER and she just couldn't stop crying.

She could feel it pulsating and it was hurting so much.

They went to a bed and a doctor came over with a nurse.

"Bella?" Nurse Maggie said when she saw the girl. Doctor Sarah Sullivan walked next to her.

Bella just stared at them crying.

"Do you remember us?" Maggie asked and Bella nodded yes crying.

"Can you lay down for me?" The doctor asked and Bella laid down. Laura held the girl's left hand.

"What happened?" Doctor Sullivan asked the grownups.

"She fell on her right hand" Mister Levi said.

"Where's her mother?" Maggie asked.

"She's coming. Bella was at school. I'm umm.. the choir director" Levi said.

"Let me take a look at this" the doctor said.

She took Isabella's right hand and she could clearly see the child was in pain.

"Let's give her some ibuprofen for the pain" the doctor said and the nurse went to get it. "We'll need some X-rays" the doctor said.

Bella had not yet stopped crying.

"You'll be okay sweetheart. It's probably nothing serious" the doctor said taking another look at the child's wrist.

"It hurts really bad" Bella said and nurse Maggie got back with the medicine.

"Here. Drink this and you'll feel a little better" the doctor said and Bella sat up a bit to drink then laid back down.

"So you are in choir?" The nurse asked while the doctor went to see if the x-ray machine was available.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Is it cool? I never did choir but I secretly always wanted to" she said.

"It's cool" Bella said trying to breathe through the pain.

"I want my mom" Bella cried.

"Oh she's coming. I know Agent Prentiss will be here in a blink" nurse Maggie said.

"We're gonna take you for some X-rays now alright?" The doctor said coming back close to the bed.

Bella nodded yes.

"We'll be waiting here" Laura said and they wheeled the bed off.

As they did the x-ray Isabella was getting calmer as the medicine started to kick in.

 **.**

Back at the ER, Laura and James were waiting for them to take Bella back when Emily and Derek walked in. They had not met the woman but when they looked at her they knew she was Isabella's mother.

"Miss Prentiss?" Levi said.

"Yes" Emily said and walked to them. "Where's she?" She asked.

"They took her for some X-rays. They think it's just sprained" Laura said.

"And how is she?" Emily asked.

"She was crying a little but she's tough" Mister Levi said.

"She sure is" Derek said. "I'm Derek Morgan" he introduced himself and shook Mister Levi's hand.

"I'm James Levi and this is Laura" he said and Laura shook Morgan's hand too.

"You're the choir director" Emily said with a small smile and shook James's hand.

"Yes" he said.

"I'm Emily" she said. "And you're Laura" she told the woman and shook her hand.

"Yes. Nice to meet you" Laura said.

"Too bad we met like this" Levi said.

"Yes" Emily said and took a deep breath.

"I just can't believe this is happening" Emily said.

"She'll be okay" Derek said.

"We promised her it would stop Derek and now she's in a fucking hospital because of that girl" Emily said frustrated.

"I'm sure Vanessa will be expelled" Mister Levi said.

"Do you really think so?" Derek asked.

"You should have seen Carl's face when I told him what happened" Levi said.

"And what exactly happened?" Emily asked.

"We don't know for sure but we were walking to the theater and we heard a scream so we ran and Bella was on the ground and Vanessa was just standing there." Levi said.

"Gavin and Chloe were with Bella too" Laura added.

"Are they hurt or..?" Derek asked.

"No. They were fine. They said Vanessa pushed her and she fell" Laura said.

Suddenly they wheeled Isabella back.

"Look who's here" Maggie said with a smile as she saw Emily.

Isabella turned her head to the side and smiled when she her mom.

"Mommy" she said and Emily walked close to the bed.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked trying to hide how surprised she was that Bella wasn't crying.

"Yeah. It just hurts a little now" Bella said.

"And I have good news" the doctor said as she walked there with the X-rays. "Nothing is broken. It's just a sprain." She said and Bella smiled. "She'll just need a splint and that's it. She's good to go"

"See I told you it would be fine" Laura smiled and Bella smiled back. Maggie went to get the splint.

"Keep the splint for 10 days. She can take Advil for the pain and it's okay to take the splint of to shower but not putting any weight in there" the doctor said.

"Which one do you want?" Maggie asked holing a black/pink splint and a blue/black one.

"Blue" Bella said.

"Good choice" Maggie smiled and went to put it on. "This might hurt a little bit" she said.

"Mom" Bella said and Emily took her hand.

Maggie put it on and Bella squeezed Emily's hand tightly and closed her eyes as she tried to concentrate not to cry or jump.

"All done" Maggie said and Bella sat up.

"Here put this on. You gotta keep it up" the doctor said handing Maggie a black sling. She put it on Bella and said "you're free to go"

Bella smiled.

"You are so tough child" Maggie said. Most kids wouldn't be smiling at that moment.

"She is" Emily said smiling. She was so impressed the kid was not crying. "Let's go?" She said and Bella nodded yes.

Emily helped her get off the bed and took her hand.

"You just need to sign some papers for me Miss Prentiss" Nurse Maggie said.

"Of course" Emily said.

Derek took Bella's hand.

"We'll be waiting in the car" he said and walked out with Bella, James and Laura while Emily signed the papers.

"Thank you for coming with me" Bella told Laura and James as they got to the FBI's SUV.

"No problem" Laura said. "I'm just glad you're okay" she said giving the girl a hug.

Bella smiled and went inside the car.

"Bye" James and Laura said and headed to their car.

Derek got inside when he saw Emily walking out of the hospital.

"Everything okay?" He asked Bella.

"Yeah" she said sounding a bit down.

"Does it still hurt?" He asked her and she nodded as her eyes filled with tears.

Emily got on the backseat next to Bella.

"Are you okay?" She asked Bella who nodded. Emily could see the kid was about to cry.

"Come here" she said wrapping her arms around the girl and Bella just bursted into tears.

"It was hurting so bad mom" Bella cried.

"That girl is never going to touch one finger on you again. Do you hear me?" Emily said pissed.

"Can we just go home?" Bella asked.

"I have to talk to Carl, honey" Emily said and Bella just kept crying.

"Does it hurt right now?" Emily asked.

"Yeah a little" Bella said.

"Here. Maggie said that if it was still hurting I could give you 10 drops" Emily said letting go of Bella and opening the medicine. "She said you just might feel a bit sleep"

"Okay" Bella said. Emily gave the girl the medicine and Derek drove to the school.

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At the school Vanessa was inside the principal's office with her parents and Mister Levi and Laura, and they were waiting for Emily to get there.

Derek parked the car and they walked inside.

"Hi. He's waiting for you" the secretary said.

"Does she have to go in too?" Emily asked.

"No" the secretary said feeling bad for the girl.

"It won't be long baby" Emily told Bella and walked in.

"Oh my god, look at that" Chloe said walking in and Bella turned to look at her. "You're turning into a Dalek" she said walking to Bella. "Exterminate" Chloe said and Bella laughed.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked. She had talked to the principal about what happened and then she called Hilary and asked if she could stay and wait for Bella to be back. She had been waiting there ever since.

"Yeah. I just sprained" Bella said and Chloe smiled.

"Does it hurt still?" Chloe asked.

"A tiny little bit" Bella said.

Suddenly Chloe's phone rang. It was her mother. Hilary told her she was waiting outside.

"Well I gotta go. I just wanted to make sure you were okay" she said.

"I'm Fine" Bella said with a small smile.

"I'll see you soon" Chloe said and went out.

"That was really nice of her" Derek said walking to some chairs and Bella followed him.

"Yeah" the girl said and Derek pulled her to his lap.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

"No" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"You have nothing to be scared about princess. I'm right here" he said. "I won't let anyone hurt you" he said and Bella rested her head on his chest. He kept an arm around her and it didn't take long for the medicine to kick in and Bella to fall asleep.

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Inside the principal's office Emily was trying hard to keep her calm.

She just wanted to explode on that girl's face. She was so angry.

"So I think it's important that all of you are here because the school has given you a few chances Vanessa and you have not changed your behavior." Carl said. "What happened today could have had a far worse outcome" he added looking straight at the girl's parents.

"According to other two students you were bullying them and Isabella stepped in front of her friend to shield her from you and you pushed her" Carl said. Emily was very surprised to learn that.

Laura and James too.

"She fell down on her hand and sprained her wrist. And that is the second time you physically hurt her" Carl said. "The school will not tolerate this behavior anymore. From anyone." He added. "I'd like you to explain to me why you did what you did" he said and Vanessa staid quiet.

"I'm giving you the opportunity to talk here Vanessa" he said.

"I have nothing to say. She deserved it" Vanessa said as if she didn't care at all about what was happening.

Emily just couldn't take it anymore.

"What did she do to you to deserve that?" Emily said trying to keep calm.

Vanessa looked at her and said "she just did. She's a brat! You all don't know what she's like at school." She said trying to pass as the victim.

"Oh please don't even try this Vanessa." Emily said. "Isabella hasn't done anything to anybody. You've started this on the first day she came here. She never did anything to you" Emily said.

"You don't know" Vanessa said almost crying.

"Vanessa stop this" he father said. He had enough.

"Mister Jones, I expect for the wellbeing of my daughter, that this time the consequences will be far worse. Because clearly detention didn't do anything" Emily said.

"There's no question that Vanessa can't stay in this Academy anymore" he said and Vanessa looked up at him.

"We've given her multiple opportunities and clearly nothing changed so there's nothing else I can do other than expel her" Carl told her parents.

"We understand" her father said serious.

"You can pick up all her documents with the secretary and find another school" Carl said.

Her parents were pissed. "Go get your bag" her father said as they stood up.

"Are you sure there's nothing else?" Her mother asked.

"No" Carl said serious and they walked out.

As they walked out Derek held Bella a bit tighter.

Vanessa had tears falling down her face now.

"Stop this" her father said grabbing her arm. "You did this to yourself. You don't have the right to cry" he said angry. He got Vanessa's file and they went out.

"Wow" the secretary said with her eyes widened.

 **.**

Inside Carl's office Emily said thank you.

"I'm sorry I didn't do it before. This should have never happened" he said.

Emily nodded understanding. She was glad it was over.

"And thank you for staying with her at the hospital." Emily told Laura and James.

"no problem" Laura said smiling.

"Yeah we're just glad she's okay" James said. "Oh and tell her she needs to come to practice on Monday. Someone needs to sing Vanessa's part" he added smiling. He personally never really liked Vanessa.

"I will" Emily said and stood up. "Thank you sir" she told Carl and shook his hand.

"Have a nice day" he told her and she walked out.

"You two can go" Carl told Laura and James and they walked out right behind Emily.

They all smiled when they saw Bella asleep.

"Aww that's adorable" Laura said.

"How long has she been asleep?" Emily asked walking to Derek.

"Pretty much ever since you walked inside" Derek said.

Emily smiled at Bella's rosy cheeks and took the girl's hair out of her face.

"Let's go?" Emily said and Derek stood up with Bella in his arms.

"She'll be here on Monday" Emily smiled at James and Laura and they smiled back.

"Bye" Laura said.

"Bye" Emily said and walked to the car with Derek.

Emily sat on the back and Morgan laid Bella there. The girl woke up.

"We're in the car" Emily said. "Come here" she said and Bella laid her head on her mother's lap. Emily soothed the girl's hair.

"Is it okay if we go to the office? I need to get my things" Emily asked Bella.

"Sure." Bella whispered and closed her eyes. Derek started driving and Bella fell back asleep.

"What exactly happened in there?" Derek asked.

"Carl let Vanessa talk and she tried playing the victim. But he didn't buy it of course" Emily said.

"And?" Derek asked.

"She was expelled" Emily said unable to keep a smile hidden.

"Finally" Morgan said and smiled too.

They both knew Bella would finally have some peace at school.


	64. Chapter 64: Is It Wrong To Be Happy?

…

At the BAU, Derek carried sleeping Bella inside.

They walked in to find the team waiting for them.

"What happened?" Penelope said really scared as she saw Bella in Derek's arms.

"She's okay" Emily said as Penelope looked like she was about to cry.

"What exactly happened?" JJ asked worried.

"Vanessa happened" Derek said sitting down. Bella made herself comfortable in the new position and didn't even wake up. Penelope pushed some hair off the girl's face.

"Are you sure she's okay?" Garcia asked Emily.

"Yes. She sprained her wrist but she's alright" Emily said.

"And what does Vanessa have to do with that?" JJ asked.

"Vanessa was talking to Bella, Chloe and Gavin, and apparently Bella stepped in front of Chloe to shield her from Vanessa and the girl got mad and pushed her." Emily said.

"Oh God" Penelope said.

"Bella landed on her hand first so they took her to the hospital" Emily said.

"It's just sprained then?" JJ asked.

"Yeah. She's asleep because of the pain medicine but she'll be fine" Emily said.

"How can that girl be so mean?" Garcia said. She had not taken her eyes off Bella.

Emily made an 'I have no idea' face.

"And what happened to Vanessa?" Hotch asked.

"She was kicked out" Emily said.

"She was expelled?" Garcia asked surprised.

"Yes" Emily said.

"Oh my god. Finally" Garcia said letting out a deep breath.

They all just looked at Bella and then Emily said "well, I just came to get my things. You guys can call me if you need me for anything but she needs a bed"

"Of course" Hotch said.

Emily walked to her desk and grabbed her bag and some files and smiled at the team.

"Could you?" She asked Derek. He knew she meant 'could you take Bella to the car' so he stood up and the girl didn't even move.

"Wow she's really out" Rossi said.

"Em, anything just call" Penelope said.

"Thank you" Emily said and started walking to the door.

Derek carried Bella to the car, Emily lowered the front seat a bit and he put the child there who stayed asleep.

"Anything just call" Morgan said.

"Thank you" Emily said really thankful that he went with her.

He gave her a small smile and she got inside the car and drove away.

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Emily parked her car and woke Bella up.

"Hey, we're home baby" Emily said soothing the girl's hair. "Bella, wake up" Emily sang and Bella opened her eyes. "Hi. We're home" Emily said smiling.

They got out of the car and headed to the elevator.

"Do you want pizza for dinner today?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella said looking a bit down.

"Come here" Emily said and hugged the girl.

Suddenly they got to their floor.

Bella followed Emily to the door and they got inside.

"Where's my bag?" Bella asked noticing she didn't have anything to put down on the floor like she was used to.

"I think it's at the school. Did you have any homework?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said looking down.

"I don't think they'll mind honey" Emily said.

"I guess not" Bella said walking to the stairs.

"I'm going to order pizza. I'll be right up." Emily said and Bella walked upstairs and just laid on her bed. She felt exhausted.

Emily ordered pizza and headed up.

She walked inside the child's bedroom and Bella was with her eyes closed.

"Hey don't go back to sleep I ordered pizza" Emily said and Bella opened her eyes. Emily walked to the bed. "How about you go take a shower before it gets here?" She said and Bella shook her head no.

Emily just knew the reason why she got a no.

"You don't want to take the splint out?" Emily asked.

"It's gonna hurt to put it back on" Bella said.

Emily sat on the bed facing Bella. "Look, how about if I make you a nice warm bath with loooots of bubbles and then you take the splint out and just relax, and after you're done we can watch a movie and put some ice to help with the swallowing and the pain? Huh? and then we'll put it back on" Emily said.

"Isn't it going to hurt again?" Bella asked.

"The ice will help baby. It hurt to put it on in the hospital because it was so recent and you were moving around" Emily said.

Bella thought hard for a while and then said "okay"

"Alright, can you go get your clothes while I get the tub ready?" Emily asked with a smile and Bella nodded yes. Emily went to the bathroom and Bella got her pajamas. She helped Bella take her clothes off and the girl went in the bathtub.

"Let's take this off now" Emily said and took the splint out. Bella made a face but she was actually impressed that it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

"Do you need me here with you or can I take a quick shower?" Emily asked.

"You can shower, I'm alright" Bella said.

"Okay. I won't take long" Emily said and went out.

Bella just tried to relax and not think about the pain on her wrist. It wasn't hurting very bad but it was hurting a bit. It was like a weird pain that was just sort of there at all times and you couldn't take your mind off of it.

After a while, Emily walked out of the shower and put on pajamas. As she was walking to check on Bella the buzzer rang. She went downstairs and it was the pizza so she got it and put it on the kitchen island then headed up to get Bella.

"Bella, the pizza is here" Emily said walking inside the bathroom.

"Can you help me get out?" Bella asked. She had tried to but it was hard not to use her right hand.

Emily helped her and helped her dry herself.

"All done?" Emily asked and Bella nodded.

"My clothes are on the bed" Bella said and Emily got it. She helped the girl get dressed and then brushed Bella's hair.

"Let's go eat downstairs? We can put the ice pack on your arm there" Emily said getting the splint and Bella followed her downstairs.

She turned the tv on while Bella went to the couch. She took the pizza there and then got the ice pack. They ate and Bella tried to pay attention to the tv other than the bothering little pain.

Once they were done eating, Emily took everything to the kitchen and then sat next to Bella.

"Let's put this back on?" Emily said and Bella nodded looking a little scared.

Emily took the ice pack away and sat back next to Bella. She tried to be as gentle as she could.

Bella just flinched and made a face but it didn't feel as bad as the first time.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked once she was done.

Bella nodded yes.

The girl laid her head on Emily's lap and asked "mom, what happened to Vanessa?"

"She was expelled" Emily said serious.

Bella took some time to think and then asked "is it wrong if I'm happy about that?"

Emily couldn't help but smile "no, it's not wrong at all" she said soothing the girl's hair.

Bella turned to face the tv and they just sat there quietly.

It didn't take very long for Bella to sleep.

Emily finished watching the movie they were watching and decided to go upstairs. She wanted to carry Bella but she was scared she would end up hurting the girl so she woke her up.

"Let's go to bed" Emily said softly and Bella sat up.

Emily felt bad for waking her again. "Do you want mommy to carry you?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes very sleepy. "Stand up on the couch" Emily said and Isabella did as told. Emily carefully picked her up and went upstairs.

"Can I sleep on your bed?" Bella asked.

"Sure baby" Emily said and walked inside her room. She put Bella down on the bed and covered her up.

"Can you get my blanket, mommy?" Bella asked sleepy.

Emily went to the child's bedroom and got the blanket and Duffy.

"Here. I got your bear too" Emily said handing the things to Bella. Emily turned the light off and closed the door, and then she laid next to the girl.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said getting closer to her mom.

Emily ran her thumb on the child's cheek and then started running her hand on the girl's back.

She did that till they were both asleep.

* * *

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 **(Saturday)**

Emily woke up that day and decided to make pancakes to try to cheer Isabella up a little.

It was around 8:30 when Bella walked to the kitchen and found Emily cooking.

"Good morning" Emily smiled.

Bella walked to her and just waited for the hug. Emily wrapped her arms around the girl and kissed the top of her head. "Do you want chocolate chips on yours?" Emily asked.

"I sure do" Bella smiled and took a seat on the island.

They ate and Bella seemed okay but Emily did notice how the girl would flinch sometimes, so once they finished eating she asked if she was in pain.

"A little bit" Bella said.

"You can take the medicine now. Do you want it?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said and Emily went to get it.

Bella took the medicine and they sat on the couch to watch some tv.

"Come here" Emily said and Bella laid her head on her mother's lap. It didn't take very long for the child to sleep.

Around 9:30, Penelope texted Emily asking if she could stop by with JJ, and of course Emily said yes. So when the clock hit 10:12am the two women were at Emily's door, accompanied by little Henry.

"Come on in" Emily said as she opened the door.

"Where's she?" Garcia asked anxiously.

"Couch. She's asleep" Emily said as they walked there.

"Oh Bellie" Penelope said as she saw the girl sleeping.

"Garcia, she's alright" Emily said.

"Can I play mommy?" Henry asked.

"Bella is asleep right now baby" JJ said and the boy looked sad.

"Do you want to play games on my iPad?" Penelope asked him.

"Yeah" he said with a smile. She got it out of her purse and gave it to him. Henry sat on the floor to play while the women sat on the couches to talk.

"So how's she doing?" JJ asked.

"Is she in pain or..?" Penelope said worried.

"She's okay." Emily said smiling at how worried Penelope was. "She was in a little bit of pain this morning but I gave her the medicine and she fell asleep which is good. But she'll be alright. A sprain doesn't take long to heal and the pain will decrease a lot in the next couple of days" Emily said.

"Thank god it was just a sprain" Garcia said.

"Yeah" Emily said looking at Bella.

There was a bit of silence, then Emily said "she asked me if it was wrong to be happy about Vanessa being expelled" Emily said.

JJ smiled.

"What in the world did you do to deserve such a child?" JJ asked smiling.

"I have no idea" Emily said laughing.

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At Emily's house, the women talked about their life and about work while Henry played games. Around 11:20, Emily went upstairs to get some clothes for Bella and left the girl sleeping downstairs with her friends and Henry.

Bella made a face as if she was in pain which alarmed JJ and Penelope. Then the girl opened her eyes.

"Hi" Garcia said walking to the couch where Bella was.

"Hi" Bella said sitting up.

"Are you okay? How's your arm?" Garcia asked worried.

"It's fine" Bella said.

"Does it hurt?" JJ asked.

"A tiny little bit" Bella said.

"You scared me to death yesterday!" Penelope said and hugged Bella. "Your mom ran out and all we knew was that you were in the hospital" she added.

"It hurt so bad when it happened. I seriously thought it was broken" Bella said.

"Yeah?" Penelope said pushing a lock of her behind the girl's ear.

"But it's fine now" Bella said. "And Vanessa left"

"So I've heard" Garcia smiled.

"Are you happy?" Bella asked a little confused.

"Of course I am. She is gone gone gone. And she'll never ever hurt you again" Garcia said and Bella smiled. "Seriously munchkin, when she hurt you last time I wanted to hurt her back and you know I don't hurt anyone ever." Penelope said and Emily walked back in.

"Well good morning again" Emily smiled.

"Good morning" Bella said.

"It's almost lunch time and we were thinking of getting some chick-Fil-a at the mall. What do you think?" Emily asked.

"Can Chloe go too?" Bella asked.

"Of course she can" Emily said impressed the kid wanted to take her friend.

"You two go get ready and I'll call her" JJ said.

Emily stood out a hand and Bella grabbed it and they went upstairs.

 **.**

A while later they walked back.

Bella had jeans and a navy blue shirt on and her red rain boots.

"I missed these boots" JJ smiled and Bella smiled a little embarrassed.

Emily put the sling on the girl and they headed out.

Hilary decided to go with them to the mall so she was waiting in the hall with her kids.

"How are you?" She asked Bella.

"I'm fine" Bella smiled. She did look okay.

Definitely way better than Hilary expected.

"You hurt your arm?" Millie asked.

"Yeah." Bella said.

"How?" Millie asked.

"I fell" Bella said.

"Did it hurt?"

"Yeah" Bella answered.

"Let's go?" Emily said and they started walking to the car.

Millie kept going "is this a cast?" She asked.

"No, it's called a splint" Bella said.

"Can you take it out?"

"Just to take a shower" Bella said.

"It's pretty" the little girl said and got inside Hilary's car.

"Mom, can I ride with Chloe?" Bella asked.

Emily looked at Hilary and said yes.

 **.**

The drive to the mall was okay.

In Hilary's car, the kids sang songs and everything was fine.

At JJ's car, Emily couldn't help but feel proud of Bella. She was taking it all very well. Yes she did cry, of course she did, she was in pain, but she was just going on with her life. She wasn't scared and with a need to be around her mother like before. She was fine. Emily could actually believe now that her daughter was fine.

And she couldn't help but smile.

"You're such a proud mama, aren't you?" Garcia smiled and Emily laughed.

"I am" she said and the three women laughed.

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At the mall they ate and then walked around.

"Can we go in there?" Bella asked as she saw the Disney store.

"Just to look" Emily told Bella and the kids ran to the store.

They looked around and played with some things while the women waited at the door. Emily spotted where the tsum tsums were and said "I'll be right back" and went there. She found a really cute one and secretly bought it for Bella.

"Couldn't resist?" JJ said.

"I think she deserves a little something" Emily smiled and put the bag on her purse. The women smiled and then Hilary said "we should get them"

JJ and Hilary went inside and got the kids.

Bella took Emily's hand and they started walking.

"Mom, some other day if you have enough money, can you buy another outfit for Duffy?" the little girl asked.

"Some other day I will" Emily smiled.

 **.**

They walked some more and as JJ was trying a dress on, Bella said her wrist was hurting. Emily gave her the medicine and it didn't take long for the girl to look sleepy.

"I think we should go home" Emily told Bella.

"Yeah. This one needs a nap" JJ said looking at Henry who looked tired too.

"Let's go then?" Emily said.

"I promised Millie a dress so I need to stop at Justice" Hilary said. "Thank you guys for inviting us"

"We should go out more. This is fun" Penelope smiled.

"Bye" Emily told Hilary.

"Bye Chloe" Bella said.

"See you on Monday?" Chloe asked hugging Bella.

"Yup" Bella said and took Emily's hand again. "Bye" she said and they headed to the car.

Bella sat on the back with Henry and Penelope while JJ drove to Emily's home. The girl was so sleepy and tired of walking that she rested her head on Henry's car seat and basically passed out.

When Emily parked the car she smiled at Bella and Henry, both fast asleep.

"Do we really have to wake her up?" Penelope asked feeling bad and Emily nodded yes.

"Hey monkey, wake up" Garcia said pulling the girl to her. Bella opened her eyes and looked around trying to see where she was.

"Hey you're home. It's okay" Garcia said and the girl calmed down realizing where she was.

"Let's go Bella" Emily said and they got out of the car.

"Bye" Emily smiled at her friends while Bella hugged her waist.

"Bye guys" JJ said. Penelope waved and JJ drove away.

Emily and Bella went up and Bella went straight to her room, put on pajamas and went to bed. It didn't take very long for her to fall asleep again.

Emily let the girl rest and stayed in the living room watching tv. Bella woke up a little over an hour later and sat to watch tv with her.

"Mom" Bella said sounding sad.

Emily looked at her.

"It hurts" the girl said almost crying.

"Do you want to put the ice pack on?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes as a tear escaped. Emily wiped it and went to get the ice. She sat back on the couch and Bella laid her head on her lap. She took the splint out and held the ice pack in place.

"Try to concentrate on the tv baby" Emily said.

"How long will it hurt like this?" Bella asked.

"Just a couple days." Emily said.

"A couple like two?" Bella asked.

"Yeah two or three." Emily said soothing the girl's hair with one hand and holding the ice pack with the other. "Don't worry, it's going to go down and then you won't even feel anything" she said.

Bella started calming down as she payed attention to the tv and Emily kept running her hand on her hair.

They sat there till dinner time. Emily put the splint back on the girl and they ate dinner and then stayed in the living room till around 10:30 when Emily decided they should go to bed.

"Can I stay on your bed again?" Bella asked a little embarrassed.

"Of course you can" Emily said as they walked upstairs.

Bella got on the bed and hugged her bear and her blanket. Emily went to her closet and got the Disney bag out.

"Here. I saw this and I just had to buy it" Emily said handing Bella the bag.

"For me?" Bella asked surprised.

"Yeah. For your collection" Emily smiled and started changing her clothes.

Bella opened the bag and smiled when she saw what it was. A Dale tsum tsum.

"Thank you mom! It's so cute!" She said.

"You're welcome" Emily smiled putting a large Yale shirt on. She went and turned the light off.

"You didn't have to give me anything" Bella said as Emily got on the bed.

"I know" Emily said. "But you deserve it" she smiled and Bella smiled back placing the bag in the nightstand. "That's for being so brave in the hospital" Emily said.

"Thank you" Bella smiled and hugged her mom.

Emily gave the kid a bunch of kisses and laid down taking the girl with her. "I love you Bells" Emily said.

"I love you too mommy" Bella said relaxing in her mother's embrace.

* * *

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 **(Sunday)**

Sunday was a great day.

Bella woke up and she was in just a little bit of pain but with the medicine it went away super-fast. She watched some tv with her mother in the morning and then Derek Morgan called Emily and invited them for lunch, Garcia was going too. Bella was really excited to go and she had a lot of fun with them. As they talked during lunch, the grownups could see how relaxed and happy Bella looked.

That sweet happy Bella had a hard time showing up but when she did it was amazing. Emily could see the happy little girl she used to visit and she couldn't be happier herself.

* * *

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 **(Monday)**

"Time for school baby" Emily said trying to wake Isabella up.

The night before Bella said she was okay to stay on her own bed.

"Wake up Bells, you're gonna be late for school" Emily sang and the child opened her eyes.

"Good morning" Emily smiled.

"Hi" Bella said super sleepy.

"Come on, get up. We gotta go" Emily laughed.

They got ready, ate breakfast and headed to the school.

 **.**

"Anything. Really anything you can call me, okay?" Emily said as Bella unbuckled.

"Okay" Bella said. The girl looked a bit nervous.

"Hey, she's not here" Emily said looking at Bella. "You'll be fine." Emily smiled.

"Right" Bella smiled pushing away her fears. "Bye" Bella said.

"Bye. I love you. Have a good day" Emily smiled as Bella got out of the car.

"You too" Bella said and walked to her friends, who were anxiously waiting for her at the top of the bigs steps in front of the school.

Bella waved at Emily once she got there and the woman drove away.

Emily was nervous too. She took a deep breath and said to herself "she'll be okay. She's fine" and drove to work.

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"So how's your arm?" Gavin asked.

"It's fine. It doesn't hurt as bad anymore" Bella said. "Oh I need to get my bag" she said and they started walking to the lockers.

"Bella, I never got the chance to say thank you" Chloe said and they all stopped walking.

"Thank you for what?" Bella asked confused.

"For standing up for me" Chloe said.

"Chloe I didn't do any-" Bella said but Gavin cut her off. "Are you kidding me? You put yourself between Chloe and Vanessa." He said.

"It was kind of involuntary I think" Bella said and started walking again. "When I saw I was already there" she added.

"I know" Chloe said. Bella got her bag. "But thank you" Chloe added.

"You're welcome I guess" Bella said and they walked to class.

They sat down and got their binders and notebooks out and the teacher walked in.

 **.**

The day at school went great and at Emily's work nothing major happened. Just lots of paperwork.

When school was done the kids headed to choir practice.

"Bella!" Laura said and ran to the girl. "Are you okay?" She asked hugging her.

"Yeah" Bella said a bit shy and Laura let go.

"How's your arm?" Bonnie asked walking to the child.

"It's okay" Bella said.

"You were so brave" Laura said hugging the girl again.

"Hi Bella" Mister Levi said walking to the girl and Laura let go of her.

"Hi" Bella said with a shy smile.

"Did your mom tell you the exciting news?" He asked and Bella looked confused. "I see she hasn't" he smiled.

"What news?" Bella asked.

"We need someone to sing Vanessa's part sooooo..." He said.

"Can you give it to someone else?" Bella said looking a bit down.

"Why?" Levi asked confused, he thought she would be really excited to have a solo part.

"I don't want to take her part" Bella said.

"What if we switched parts? You can sing umm let me see..." Mister Levi said and took a look at the other kids.

He saw an older girl, who was 15, that wanted to sing the song Vanessa would do. "Liana!" He called her and the blond girl walked to him. "Do you want to sing Vanessa's part?" He asked.

"Sure!" The girl said with a smile.

"How about that Bella? You sing Liana's part then" he said.

"Okay" Bella said even though she didn't look that excited.

"Oh no. Not with that sad face" Laura said throwing one arm over the girl's shoulder and Bella smiled.

And it was a true happy smile.

She wanted a solo, she just didn't want Vanessa's.

"Much better" Bonnie said.

"Alright, so let's start?" Mister Levi said and all the kids took their places.

The rehearsal went great and Bella couldn't be more excited about the performance on Friday.

As the kids were walking out, Laura called for Bella.

"You did a good job on your part today" she smiled and the child smiled back and said "thank you"

Suddenly Bonnie walked to them "does anyone else in your family sing?" She asked.

"My mom is good at it but she doesn't sing around you know" Bella smiled. "My brother sings though. He's really good actually"

"Really?" Mister Levi said sitting on his desk where they were.

"Yeah. He did a couple things in New York when he was young" Bella said.

"Oh cool!" Laura smiled. "What about you, have you ever done anything?"

"Just school stuff" Bella said.

"Well, you are really good" Bonnie said.

"Thank you" Bella said a bit shy.

"Alright so we'll see soon" Mister Levi said.

"Bye" Bella said smiling and ran out.

"She looks okay" Bonnie smiled.

"Yeah" Laura said and the three grownups just smiled happy the kid was alright.

 **.**

Outside Gavin and Chloe were waiting for Bella.

"Let's go?" Gavin asked and Bella nodded.

"Can you promise me you won't forget us when you're famous on Broadway?" Chloe said and they burst into laughter.

"Never" Bella said and they walked to the bus.

…


	65. Chapter 65: What A Show

…

When Isabella walked inside the BAU she couldn't be more excited to tell everyone how school went.

It was more than great. It was perfect. She had so much fun, there was no bullying whatsoever, and to top it all she had a special part. She was just so excited.

"Look who's here" Derek said as he stood close to Emily's desk when he saw the girl walking in.

"Why are you smiling like this? What happened?" Emily asked smiling at how excited the child looked.

Bella walked to her mom, dropped her bag on the floor and sat on her lap and hugged her.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked smiling.

"I'm awesome" Bella said and looked at Emily.

"You crazy child" Emily smiled.

Bella sat up straight and said "mom, you'll go to the show on Friday, right?"

Emily smiled and said "I swear!" and hugged Bella again.

"What happened?" Derek asked Bella.

"School was great." She said. "It was truly great" she smiled and the two adults were smiling too. "Oh I have to talk to Penelope!" The girl said and started running to Garcia's office.

"No running" Emily said and Bella looked back, mouthed a sorry and walked to find her favorite Aunt.

 **.**

She walked in and Penelope turned around to face her. "Hi monkey! How was school?"

"You will not believe what happened!" Bella said smiling and walking closer to the woman.

"Tell me! tell me!" Garcia said standing up and following the girl to the couch.

They sat down.

"I got a solo part!"

"Oh my god" Penelope said excited. "That's so cool!" she said.

"Yeah!" Bella said excited.

"So besides choir being amazing, how was school?" Garcia asked.

"It was really good." Bella said with a smile.

Penelope gave the child a genuine happy smile and hugged her. "No more stupid bullies bugging you" she said. "Auntie Penny will never ever ever let that happen again. No one can hurt my little sugarplum"

Bella smiled and relaxed on the embrace.

"I love you Aunt Penelope" the little girl said.

Penelope let go of the hug, looked in the child's eyes and said "I love you too my beautiful tiny Prentiss" and then hugged Bella again.

Suddenly Emily walked in.

"Hey. We're free to go" Emily said and Bella ran to her.

"Bye Bellie" Garcia said.

"Bye" Bella smiled and walked out with her mother.

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The rest of the day went fine. They watched tv on Emily's bedroom, Bella did her homework, they played chess, had dinner, showered and headed to bed.

"Good night bells" Emily said as she tucked the girl in.

"Night mommy" Bella said. "I love you"

"I love you too" Emily said and placed a kiss on the girl's forehead. She turned the night light on and the ceiling light off, closed the door slightly and went to her room. She watched some tv and then fell asleep too.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Emily went to wake Isabella up and found the girl all ready for school and reading a book.

"What time did you wake up?" Emily asked surprised.

"A while ago" Bella said closing the book and walking to the door. "Good morning" Bella said hugging Emily.

"Good morning baby" Emily said smiling and they went downstairs. Bella had some cereal and they headed to school.

School went great.

As they walked to the bus they saw a poster from the school's show and smiled big.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Gavin said.

Bella smiled excited.

"Who did you invite?" He asked.

"The team" Bella said.

"What about the people in Seattle?" Gavin asked.

"Gav, I don't think they'd come here just for a school performance" Bella said.

"Not even your brother?" He asked.

"I don't know" Bella said.

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She went to the BAU and the rest of the day went fine.

Bella hung out with Garcia and then with her mom. Later they went home, Bella did her homework and Emily ordered Mexican food. They ate and watched some tv.

"I'm gonna shower" Bella said.

Emily took the splint off and Bella went upstairs.

She showered, got dressed and she couldn't stop thinking about Jeremy. She hadn't stopped since Gavin mentioned him.

She sat on her bed and it was like her phone was calling for her. She picked it up and called her brother.

"Bella?" He asked surprised the girl was calling.

"Hi" Bella said.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'm good ummn I just wanted to invite you to my school on Friday at 6:30" she said. "There's a choir thing" Bella said.

"Alright" he said. "I'll try to go"

"Okay" Bella said. "Well, I have to go now. Goodnight"

"Goodnight" he said and they hung up.

In Seattle, Jeremy was in shock.

"What happened?" Marley asked.

"Bella invited me to her choir performance on Friday" he said.

"Really? That's wonderful. We need to go" Marley said smiling and Jeremy smiled back.

.

In DC, Bella put her phone in the nightstand and headed downstairs.

Emily put the splint back on the girl and she noticed Bella looked like she was thinking hard about something.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. "I invited Jeremy to come watch the choir thing"

"You did?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yes. Is that okay?" Bella asked.

"Of course it's okay" Emily smiled.

"Mom, can you tell him what happened?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily said understanding.

"It's just that if he comes he'll see my arm and he'll freak out. But I don't wanna call him to explain what happened" Bella said honestly.

"Don't worry. I'll call him tomorrow" Emily said.

"Thanks" Bella smiled.

They watched some tv and then headed to bed.

"Did you have a good day?" Emily asked tucking Bella in.

"Yes" Bella smiled a bit sleepy.

"How does your wrist feel?" Emily asked. She was impressed Bella hadn't mentioned pain all day.

"It feels fine." Bella said.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. It sorta hurts a little but nothing like before" Bella said.

"Good. That's really good" Emily smiled and gave the girl a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep tight" Emily said.

"You too" Bella said and Emily went out.

That night Emily went to bed with a good happy feeling. She was so happy about how things were now and how Bella was. She was just so proud of the girl.

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 **(Wednesday)**

The day didn't start so great.

Emily woke up with a phone call around 5:10am. She had a case and it was a really bad one. Luckily it was just a 2 and half hour drive from DC.

She got ready quickly and woke Bella.

"Baby, I gotta go to work. I'll drop you off at Hilary's. Come on" she said and Bella got up.

Emily had to hurry so she grabbed Bella's things and headed to Hilary's with Bella still wearing pajamas.

"I'm so sorry" Emily told Hilary as the woman opened the door.

"It's fine. Come on in honey" Hilary said noticing how sleepy Bella looked. She got the girl's things from Emily then Bella hugged her mom.

"Bye" Emily said and Bella walked inside almost asleep on her feet.

"Thank you" Emily told Hilary and went to the elevator.

"Come on let's go back to bed" Hilary said. The girl followed the woman to the bedroom and it didn't take very long for her to be back asleep.

 **.**

Emily met the team at the bureau and the case was really bad.

They went to the car and then she got her phone and text Bella 'I'm so sorry for leaving so early. Anything just call me. Have a good day. Xx mom'

"Is she with Hilary?" Derek asked just knowing Emily was texting the girl.

"Yeah" Emily said putting her phone back on her pocket.

"How did she take?" JJ asked.

"I think she was too sleepy to realize what was happening." Emily smiled.

"We just need to be back before 6:30 on Friday" Derek said.

Emily made a face as she remembered.

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Bella had a good morning at Hilary's house.

The woman made waffles and Millie was super excited Bella was there. They went to school and during lunch Emily texted asking how everything was.

Bella smiled with the text and called her mother.

"Hi baby" Emily said. She was sitting at the police station waiting for Rossi and Morgan to be back from the crime scene.

"Hi" Bella said.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked.

"Yeah everything is fine" Bella said.

"Say hi" Gavin said.

"Mom everyone is saying hi" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"Say hi back" Emily said. JJ, who was sitting next to Emily, smiled.

"She's saying hi back guys" Bella said and Emily laughed.

Bella loved that sound.

"Mom, you'll be back by Friday, right?" She asked.

"I promised I would go, didn't I?" Emily said.

"Yes" Bella said.

"And I will" Emily said serious.

"Okay. So I'll see you soon" Bella smiled.

"See you soon baby" Emily smiled. "And be good for Garcia"

"I will, and you be careful" Bella said.

"I will." Emily smiled. "Bye"

"Bye" Bella said and they hung up.

 **.**

The rest of the day went fine.

Bella went to the BAU and had a bunch of homework to do. So while Penelope worked, the girl sat on her mother's desk and got her homework done. It took a long time because of her wrist but she did it.

Once she finished, she texted Emily asking if she could get the iPad back and Emily said yes so she got it and sat on the couch in Penelope's office.

She played some games and her wrist started to hurt. She tried to ignore it but it wasn't helping so she walked to Penelope and said "aunt Penny, my arm hurts"

"Oh bunny. Do you want your medicine?" Garcia asked. Emily had left it with her just in case.

Bella nodded and Penelope got it and gave it to her.

"Go rest on the couch" Garcia said and Bella laid down and started watching some videos on the iPad.

After a while she ate cereal for dinner and then played some games and watched things on Netflix and YouTube till late at night when Penelope said they were going home.

They went to Penelope's house and Bella ended up falling asleep on the way there.

Garcia woke her up and they headed inside. Bella changed her clothes and laid on the bed. In less than 5 minutes she was out.

Penelope showered and laid down too, since she was also very tired.

"Night night little tiny" the woman said placing a kiss on the girl's cheek. Bella moved closer to her and Penelope smiled and closed her eyes.

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 **(Thursday)**

As the day went on Bella got more and more nervous.

During school, Emily texted saying everything was okay there but they were very busy.

Bella couldn't help but be scared Emily wouldn't be back on Friday.

During the choir rehearsal, she felt really nervous but happy too.

"Everyone ready for tomorrow?" Mister Levi asked and everyone smiled and said yes.

After school, Isabella went to the BAU and hung out with Penelope all day. They ended up sleeping there.

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 **(Friday)**

Bella woke up and Penelope was concentrated working. The girl changed and Penelope said Kevin would drive her to school.

"I'll be out at noon today" Bella said. "Chloe invited me for lunch since mom's working. Can I go?" Bella asked.

"You sure can" Garcia smiled.

"Oh and can I get ready at her house?"

"Sure" Penelope said. "I'll meet you at the school then"

"Okay. Bye" Bella said as Kevin appeared at the door.

"Have a nice day munchkin" Penelope said and Bella gave her a kiss on the cheek and then walked out.

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School went great. It was going amazingly well since Vanessa left.

"Hi" Hilary smiled as the kids got inside the car. "Are you guys excited for tonight?" She asked.

"I might throw up" Chloe said and they all laughed.

Hilary took them to Outback and they ate, and chatted about the performance. Bella mentioned she was nervous because Emily working and might not go.

"I'm sure she'll be back in time Bella" Hilary said.

Bella couldn't help but feel nervous. Emily had never been to a school thing like that before. Bella was so happy that she would finally get to go.

And she wanted Emily there.

She really wanted.

 **.**

After lunch, Hilary took the girl's home. They had to wear the full uniform for the performance so Bella went to her apartment with Chloe to get her things.

They went back to Hilary's apartment and played games with Millie and played with the dog, Bowie, almost all afternoon.

When the clock hit 5pm, Hilary told them to get ready. So Chloe and Bella went to shower while Hilary did Millie's hair.

The little kids had ballet and they would perform too.

"Oh my god. I'm seriously going to throw up" Chloe said brushing her hair.

"Me too" Bella said.

"How do people do this for living?" Chloe said and Bella laughed.

They finished getting ready and headed to the living room.

"Millie you look so cute!" Bella said as she saw the little girl in her ballet costume.

"Thanks" Millie smiled.

"You guys look good too" Hilary said smiling.

"Thanks" Bella said a bit shy.

"So let's go?" Hilary said.

"What time is it?" Bella asked nervous. She had not heard from Emily.

"10 to six" Hilary said. The kids had to be there at 6 o'clock.

Hilary could see Bella was nervous.

"Hey. She'll be there" she told the girl and they went to the car.

The entire drive was quiet.

Chloe was nervous and Bella was too.

But for different reasons.

Bella didn't feel nervous about performing; she was a bit scared Emily wouldn't be there to see it.

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They walked inside and Will was waiting for them with Henry. JJ had called him and told him to go early and save Hilary, Penelope and Emily a seat in the front row.

"Are you excited?" Will asked Bella.

"Yeah" the girl smiled.

"Mom, we gotta go now" Chloe said.

"See you later Will" Bella smiled and walked away.

Hilary dropped the kids backstage and took a seat on the front row. Will changed to another row.

"Hey!" Gavin smiled and walked to them.

"Are you nervous?" Chloe asked.

"A little bit" he said. "How about you guys?"

"Super nervous" Chloe said.

Both friends looked at Bella waiting for her to answer but she wasn't paying attention to them.

There was a little girl talking to her mom.

"Can't you stay here while I wait?" The little girl asked almost crying.

"Sophie, mommy will be in the crowd watching you. You gotta go with Miss Janice now" the woman said.

"Bella!" Chloe said. Isabella jumped and started at her friends.

"What?" She said.

"We're talking to you" Gavin said.

"Sorry. What is it?" She said.

"Never mind" Chloe smiled.

"Come here" Bella said and walked close to the end of the curtain. Her friends followed her.

She picked at the crowd and she didn't see the team or even Jeremy in there.

"I don't think they're coming" Bella said looking a bit sad.

"Don't worry B! I'm sure they will" Chloe smiled and Bella just took a deep breath.

"Come on" Gavin said grabbing their hand and they walked to find Mister Levi in a separate area backstage.

"Is everybody here?" Mister Levi asked.

"Yes. I counted" a boy said.

"Good" Levi said. "Alright. So there'll be an opening number from the school senior band and then we'll sing. The first one will be the 'Women on Broadway Medley', and then we'll have to wait here so we can go before the closing number" he said. "Everyone understood?" He asked.

"Yes" everybody said.

"Alright. You guys need to stay here together" he said and the kids said and nodded yes.

Bella got a bit happier as she learned it would kind of take a long time to perform their second Medley.

Maybe Emily would be back by then.

The kids sat together in a corner and the show started.

They listened to the host start presenting and then to the school's band playing.

"Come on guys" Mister Levi said as the band started playing.

The kids followed him and got ready to go in after the band was done.

"Break a leg" Bella told Chloe and Gavin and hugged them.

"You too" they said smiling excited.

They announced the choir and the kids walked on stage.

Bella looked at the front row and smiled as Penelope and Henry waved happily sitting next to Hilary.

"I told you" Chloe whispered, she was standing next to Bella.

"My mom's not here" Bella said a little worried.

"She'll come too" Gavin whispered.

Mister Levi gave a little intro and they started singing.

Bella was failing to look okay. She wanted Emily there.

Chloe grabbed her hand, knowing Bella was upset, and they kept singing.

They were almost in the middle of the song when suddenly the team walked thru the door.

Bella smiled big and kept singing.

Once they were done, they walked backstage.

"I told you so" Chloe smiled and hugged Bella who looked very happy.

"Now we wait" Gavin said making a face and they followed Mister Levi to a room to hang out.

The kids chatted, played games and the time flew by.

They walked back on the stage and Bella spotted Jeremy and Marley on the crowd too.

She smiled and they started singing.

Emily smiled big as Bella sang her solo.

For a moment, after she sang her part, Bella felt sad. She wished her father was there. But she looked at Emily and the team again and smiled. She knew she was loved. She knew that even though John wasn't there she was okay.

 **.**

Once they were done they went backstage and waited for the last act.

When they finished, the host called everyone to the stage, they took pictures and then the kids ran to their parents.

Emily gave Bella a big hug and Hilary hugged Chloe.

"You came!" Bella said happy.

"I promised, didn't I?" Emily smiled and let go of the hug. The team finished the case last minute and ran to the school.

"You guys were amazing!" Penelope said hugging Bella.

"Nice job" Millie said smiling. She had gone to stay with Hilary after her dance.

"Thank you" Bella and Chloe smiled.

Suddenly Derek appeared. "Where's my rock star?" He said smiling and Bella hugged him.

"Hi" Jeremy said as he got to them. He was holding a bouquet of lavenders and tulips. Exactly like John used to do whenever the girl performed.

Bella let go of Derek and hugged her brother.

"You did awesome" Jeremy smiled and handed her the flowers.

"Thank you" Bella smiled. It was a genuine smile.

"I thought you'd like these" he said.

"I love it" Bella said and Jeremy smiled. He could see the girl was happy.

"So let's eat?" Chloe said and everyone laughed. "What?! I'm starving" the girl said.

"Me too! Can we get pizza?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled.

"Let's go then?" Derek asked.

"Can we just say goodbye to Gavin?" Bella asked.

"Go ahead. We'll be right outside" Emily said and the girl's ran. Henry ran after Bella.

"Henry! Come back!" JJ said and Bella stopped and looked back. The boy kept running and hugged her legs.

"I'll watch him" Bella smiled and took his hand.

JJ smiled and walked outside.

Bella and Chloe talked to Gavin and then went to say goodbye to Laura and Bonnie.

"Hiiiiiii" Laura said and gave Bella a hug.

"You guys did a very good job" Bonnie told them.

"Who's this little guy?" Laura asked smiling at Henry.

"This is my cousin Henry" Bella smiled.

"Hi Henry" Laura said.

"Hi" the boy said shyly and hid behind Bella.

"We gotta go. We just came to say goodbye" Chloe said.

"Okay" Bonnie smiled. "We'll see you guys on Monday?"

"I thought you were going back to New York" Chloe said.

"Only on Wednesday. So we'll stop by" Laura smiled.

"Okay. So see you then" Chloe said.

"Bye" Bonnie said.

"Bye" Chloe and Bella said and walked out with Henry a step behind.

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They went to eat pizza together and had a wonderful time.

Everyone was happy at how happy the kids were.

As time went on, the kids started getting tired. Millie and Henry ended up sleeping and they could see Bella and Chloe were tired too so they decided to go home.

"Do you want a ride?" Hilary asked Emily since Emily was riding with her teammates on the bureau car.

"Yes" Emily said.

"So we'll see you guys tomorrow?" Jeremy said.

"Sure" Bella smiled and grabbed Emily's hand.

They said their goodbyes and headed home.

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When Hilary parked the car, all three girls were asleep in the backseat.

"Guys, we're home" Hilary said. "Let's go up" she said and Chloe and Bella woke up.

Hilary picked Millie up and they headed to the elevator.

"We could take the kids swimming tomorrow" Emily said. "Jeremy is coming over"

"Sure." Hilary smiled and the elevator door opened. They went inside and headed up.

"Goodnight" Chloe said as they walked out on their floor.

"Bye" Bella said very sleepy.

Emily and Hilary laughed and the door closed.

At their floor, Emily and Bella got out of the elevator and went to their apartment.

Bella took her shoes off and left them behind the door.

"Did you have fun?" Emily asked the girl.

"Yeah" Bella smiled and walked to the kitchen.

"Nice flowers you got there" Emily smiled and Bella smiled back.

But the girl's smile faded faster than it appeared.

Emily just knew why.

She wrapped Bella in her arms and said "He would have loved it, right?"

"Yeah" Bella said sounding like she was about to cry.

Emily pulled the girl's chin up in order for the child to look at her and said "he would have been very proud of you" and smiled while wiping a tear on Bella's face.

"I miss him" Bella said.

"I know you do" Emily said putting a lock of hair behind the girl's ear.

"It was nice that Jeremy got me flowers just like dad used to" Bella said.

"Yeah it was very nice of him" Emily smiled. She could see now that the girl was okay. "I'll find a pretty vase and we can put it on your desk. How about that?" She said.

Bella nodded and gave her a small smile.

Emily let go of the hug and went to get a vase from a cabinet in the kitchen.

"How about this one?" She asked Bella who gave her a nod.

Emily put some water in it and helped the girl put the flowers in.

"Can you take it upstairs? I don't wanna break it" Bella said and Emily smiled, got the vase and they headed up.

Emily put it on the top of Isabella's desk.

"It looks nice" Bella said.

"Yeah" Emily smiled.

They stared at it for a while and then Emily said "let's shower and then bed?"

"Sure" Bella said walking to her wardrobe.

Emily walked to her bathroom and Bella got her pajamas and went to shower.

The girl showered fast and went to Emily's bed. She put her blanket under the pillow and pulled the covers up.

Emily walked out of the bathroom and smiled as she found the girl fast asleep. She turned the light off and laid next to Bella. She pushed some hair away from the girl's face, kissed her cheek and said "sleep tight". She smiled and Bella moved closer to her in her sleep. She wrapped the girl in her arms.

That night Emily realized Isabella had accepted and processed the fact that her father was gone. She saw how the girl dealt with the fact she really missed him.

Emily felt relived and proud.

When she took Bella to DC she knew the girl probably would have a hard time but she also knew her daughter was strong. And Bella had proved her just that.

After everything the child had been through, she was still showing how an amazing person she was.

Emily always knew that, but seeing it all up close just made her even more proud.

She had doubts before about a lot of things but she now believed Bella would be alright.

She believed she was enough.

She was enough to take care of Bella and make her happy.

She had no doubts about that now.

She hugged Isabella a bit tighter and the girl opened her eyes.

Emily smiled and Bella smiled back.

As Emily stared at her baby's eyes she saw happiness and she saw love.

Isabella was everything to her.

And looking in her eyes she felt peace.

She was where she had to be.

With whom she had to be.

And she could not be happier to finally have her baby with her.

…


	66. Chapter 66: Three Months Later

**.**

 **.**

* * *

 ****Part 2****

 **.**

 **.**

It had been 3 months since Isabella had seen her brother for the last time.

She remembered that weekend he spent with her after the school performance. They had so much fun.

She had talked to him on the phone a lot but he was very busy and couldn't go visit her again till that Christmas Eve morning.

She was sitting on the couch with Penelope, waiting for his arrival.

"They should be here anytime." Emily said walking in the living room and handing a cupcake to Bella and one to Penelope.

"Mom, who's coming exactly?" Bella asked and took a bite of her cupcake.

"Hilary, Chloe and Millie, Your brother and Marley... And the team" Emily smiled.

Suddenly the buzzer rang.

Bella smiled and ran to answer.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Santa Claus" Jeremy said and she laughed.

"Come on up Jeremy" she said smiling and buzzed him in.

It wasn't long till he knocked on the door.

Bella opened it and gave him a big hug. He lifted her up. "I missed you" Bella said.

"I missed you too" Jeremy smiled and put her down.

"Hi Marley" Bella said and hugged her.

They said hello to Emily and Penelope and started helping in the kitchen.

They had a great day cooking together.

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Around 5:30, they all went to get ready since dinner was meant to start at 7:45.

Bella showered and got dressed. She walked downstairs and everyone smiled at how cute she looked. She had black tights, black Mary Janes and an adorable red dress on. Her hair was down with just a red ribbon on the top of her head, just like Matilda's.

"What is it?" She asked as she noticed everybody smiling.

"You look gorgeous honey" Emily told her.

"Thanks" Bella said with a shy smiled and walked to her mother.

They sat to watch tv while waiting for the guests. Everyone was concentrated on the Christmas special they were watching but Emily couldn't take her eyes away from the Christmas tree that stood in the corner of the living room.

Bella had chosen the place and they had so much fun decorating it.

It was the first Christmas tree she ever had in her own house.

Emily smiled as she remembered the day they put it up.

Suddenly she heard Isabella laughing and she remembered the girl's first Christmas.

...

* * *

 ****** 11 years ago... New York City.**

.

.

It had been a month since Emily had left Bella for the first time.

She tried focusing on her work other than the fact her daughter was so far away from her. She had to go back undercover. She tried calling John whenever she could using a disposable phone and mostly at night. She said she was going to try to see them around Christmas. She really didn't want to miss Isabella's first Christmas.

John always told her that Isabella was doing fine but the truth was that the child was missing her mother. She would get fussy when she was hungry and refused the bottle sometimes and just cried.

For John, in the first few weeks the crying was the worst part. He would have to walk around the house bouncing and almost dancing to be able to calm Isabella down. While with Emily all she needed to do was hold the baby close.

For John's luck one day Derek was with him when Isabella started crying because she was having colic. John was cooking dinner so Derek went to get the girl. He placed her head on the left side of his chest and just walked downstairs. When he got to the kitchen she was barely making any sound.

"How in the world did you do that?" John asked surprised.

"I don't know. I just held her" Derek said laughing and sitting down on the couch. Once he laid her on his leg the crying started again.

"What did I do wrong?" Derek asked confused and worried.

Suddenly John realized. Emily was always carrying the girl close to her chest and that was what Derek did.

"Let her listen to your heart" John said as he realized.

"What?" Derek asked even more confused.

"Put her head on your chest again" John said and Derek did and the crying started going down and in 2 minutes she was asleep.

"How did you know that?" Derek asked.

"Emily used to do it" he said smiling.

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Christmas came by fast and with a little lie Emily managed to travel to America.

Derek had invited John to spend Christmas with him and Addison and since Emily was coming he thought it was perfect. If anything happened they could say Isabella was Derek and Addison's daughter.

Emily flew to New Jersey on December 23 and arrived the next day, Christmas Eve. Derek went to Newark's airport to pick her up. She was happy to see him and was beyond excited to see her baby again. It had been a month since she went to Europe.

Everyone was already in Addison's house when Derek and Emily arrived.

Emily ran to the front door.

"It's snowing. Be careful" Derek said laughing. "She's not going anywhere" he said and rang the bell. He had forgotten his key.

Suddenly Addison opened the door.

"Hi. Come on in" she told Emily.

"Where is she?" Emily asked, trying to look inside, before even talking properly to Addison.

"Living room" Addison smiled and Emily walked inside.

She hurried to the living room to find Jeremy and John sitting watching tv. John had Isabella in his arms dressed in an adorable red dress with white snowflakes on it.

Emily let out a big breath once she saw her daughter and her eyes filled with tears.

John walked to her and handed Bella over.

"She looks so big" Emily said with tears in her eyes as she held the little girl.

"Hi" Emily said smiling and the baby just stared at her.

"She's looking more and more like you every day" Jeremy said smiling and Emily smiled at him.

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Emily spent the entire day with her daughter. She had to go to the bathroom one time so she handed Bella to John and the little girl started crying.

"Oh it's okay. Shuuu shuuu daddy's here" he said trying to calm the child down but with no success. Emily used the bathroom as fast as she could and John handed the girl back to her.

"Shuuu it's okay. It's alright Bella" Emily whispered on the girl's ear and sat down on the couch. Shortly after the baby stopped crying and was happily starting at her mother as Emily made funny faces to her.

Emily loved seeing the girl's sparkly eyes as she stared at the Christmas tree. She was loving it.

.

The rest of the night went great.

Emily decided to take a cab to her apartment and not ride with John, just in case. So they did that and met again inside their building.

"Hey. I talked to dad and you can have my room while you're here" Jeremy said. "She would love if you spent the night" he added and Emily smiled.

"Thank you Jeremy. And you can have my place for the night. It doesn't have that many things in it yet but" she said and everyone laughed.

"John. Can I?" Emily asked wanting to hold her daughter and John handed Isabella to her. The girl was fast asleep and it was almost midnight so they went up to the apartment.

"I'm gonna put her in her room, okay?" Emily asked as they walked inside.

"Sure" John said and Emily headed to Isabella's bedroom.

She looked around the room and smiled as she saw the picture they had taken at the hospital right at the top of the dresser. She got close to it and picked it up. Her heart ached a bit for the fact she wouldn't always be there for her daughter but she knew she was doing everything she could at the time.

She placed the photo back and put Isabella on the crib, who stayed fast asleep. She kissed the girl's forehead and headed to the living room.

John and Emily stayed up a while longer talking about how her work had been and how Isabella was doing.

It was almost 2am when they decided to go to bed.

John headed to his bedroom and Emily went to Jeremy's. She took a shower, got dressed and laid on the bed.

But she couldn't sleep.

She just couldn't stop thinking about baby Bella.

After a lot of debating with herself she decided to go get the girl. She went to Isabella's bedroom, picked the girl up and sat on the rocking chair and just held the sleeping baby in her arms.

"Hi" she said as Bella opened her eyes. "Mommy is here" she said and the baby closed her eyes again.

She stayed there for almost 2 hours, just staring at her baby. Then she decided she should get some sleep so she placed Isabella back on the crib and headed to Jeremy's room.

It took some time for her to fall asleep. She kept telling herself the little girl was fine and was just sleeping in the bedroom next door.

After a while her brain finally believed it and she fell asleep.

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The next morning Emily woke up early and went to Isabella's room. The girl was still fast asleep. She picked the girl up and sat on the rocking chair. Sometime after, John walked in with a bottle for the girl.

"You're up" John smiled and walked to them.

"Good morning" Emily said.

"Merry Christmas" John smiled and handed her the girl's bottle.

"Merry Christmas" Emily smiled and gave Bella the bottle.

"I'll make breakfast." John said smiling at the scene and went to the kitchen.

He made French toast and coffee, and went to get Emily. Who followed him downstairs.

"How was your night?" John asked as Emily placed Bella on the bassinet in the living room and walked to the kitchen island.

"It was good" Emily smiled.

They started eating in silence.

After a while Emily said "she's amazing, isn't she?" as the girl kicked her little legs around.

John smiled "she is" he said.

They finished eating and Emily went to give Bella a bath which she felt so amazing doing. Once done she put a Christmas onesie on the girl and they went to Shepherd's house.

"Come on in" Shepherd said and they walked inside.

Addison was waiting by the Christmas tree. They sat on the couch and started exchanging gifts.

"You didn't have to get me anything" Emily said as John handed her a box.

He smiled as she struggled to open it with Bella in her arms.

"Oh John, It's beautiful" Emily said taking a gold bracelet with a little heart charm on it.

"The heart means Bella. So you'll always have her with you" he said.

"Thank you" Emily said with tears in her eyes. She wished she didn't need a bracelet to "have" her daughter close. But she was thankful for the gift.

John held her hand. "This kid is lucky to have you as mother" he said and they both looked at Bella.

"Well, this one gets a gift too" John said and got a bag. He pulled a little reindeer plush out.

Everyone laughed.

"That's cute" Addison said and john handed it to the girl who started swinging it around.

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The day went on great.

Emily stayed with Bella and enjoyed girl as much as she could. She had to go back the next morning so that night she gave Bella a bath, gave her the bottle and rocked her to sleep.

"I love you Bells" Emily said as she placed Bella down on her crib.

She stared at the baby for a while and then went to Jeremy's room to sleep.

.

Around 4:30am, Emily woke up with the noise of Isabella crying.

She ran to the girl's room as fast as she could and picked her up. Bella kept desperately crying.

John walked in. "What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know. I woke up with her crying" Emily said worried.

"It's probably colic, gas maybe" John said and took Bella from Emily. "Sit down" he said and Emily sat on the rocking chair. John put Bella down on Emily's lap. "Massage her tummy like this. It usually helps" he said showing her what to do.

"You can do it" Emily told him a bit scared.

"No. You got this. It's alright" John said grabbing Emily's hand and showing her exactly what to do.

Bella started to calm down.

"You got it" he told her and let go of her hand.

Emily kept running her hand in a circle motion on the girl's tummy and eventually the crying stopped.

"I'm gonna get her bottle" John said. Emily nodded and he went to the kitchen.

Emily just stared at Bella who wouldn't take her eyes off her too.

"Glad daddy's here huh?" Emily said. She felt bad she didn't know how to help the girl. She felt like she should've known.

Suddenly John walked back in. He saw how she looked at Bella.

"Hey. She's okay" John told her and handed her the bottle.

"I just feel like I should've known what was wrong. I'm her mother" Emily said.

"Emily, I didn't know what was wrong. I just thought it was gas. We got lucky this time. You have no idea how long she takes to stop crying sometimes" John said. "You did good with her" he added.

Emily just stared at Bella who was starting to blink slowly.

"Hey. You're a good mom" John said.

Emily gave him a small smile. "And she's okay now, see?" He smiled big as he noticed Bella was back asleep.

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Around 8, Emily woke up to find John watching a movie with Bella in his arms.

She had to leave in 3 hours and she just hated it.

"Good morning" John smiled and she sat next to him.

"When is your flight?" He asked as she stared at the baby.

"One" Emily said.

"Here" John said and handed Bella to her. He went to the kitchen and grabbed her some coffee. He walked back to find Emily with tears rolling down her face. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't used to Emily crying. He sat next to her and said "everything's going to be okay"

Emily wiped her tears and handed him the baby. "I know" she said. "... It's just hard" she added and grabbed the coffee cup.

John nodded looking down at Bella.

They stayed there with the baby till it was time for Emily to leave. She kissed Bella and hugged John goodbye.

"I'll call you" she said. "And mommy will be back soon" she told Bella who just smiled. She kissed the girl again and headed to the airport.

As the plane took off she looked down on her wrist and smiled at the gold bracelet.

She held the heart charm and smiled as her eyes filled with tears.

She hated having to leave the girl.

* * *

 ****** back on the "present" time...**

.

.

They sat to watch tv while waiting for the guests. Everyone was concentrated on the Christmas special they were watching but Emily couldn't take her eyes away from the Christmas tree that stood in the corner of the living room. Bella had chosen the place and they had so much fun decorating it.

It was the first Christmas tree she ever had in her own house.

Emily smiled as she remembered the day they put it up. Suddenly she heard Isabella laughing and she remembered the girl's first Christmas, it was a very special one for her in particular. Bella was too little to be excited about presents but she could remember the child's sparkling eyes as she stared at the Christmas tree. It was magical for Emily to see.

Suddenly the guests started arriving.

First Hilary and the girls, then JJ and Will with little Henry who was more than happy to see his best friend Bella. Then Rossi, Morgan and Reid.

They gathered in the living room and started chatting while the kids watched a Christmas movie on tv. A while later Hotch arrived with Jack, who fit right in with the other kids.

They sat to have dinner and they had a wonderful time. Everyone looked so happy celebrating together.

Bella was sitting between Chloe and Emily, and as she looked around the table she saw her family.

And she absolutely loved every single one of them.

After dinner was done the kids went to play in Bella's room.

"She looks so happy Em" JJ told Emily as Bella ran upstairs giggling with her friends.

Emily smiled.


	67. Chapter 67: Christmas Time

…

Later at night people started to leave.

Bella was playing with Chloe in her room when Emily appeared at the door.

"Chloe, your mom's going home now" Emily said.

The girls stood up and followed the woman downstairs. Jeremy and Marley were sitting with Penelope watching a movie. Hilary was holding sleeping Millie in her arms. "Let's go?" She asked Chloe who nodded and hugged Bella.

"Merry Christmas Eve" Chloe said and Bella smiled.

"See you tomorrow" Bella smiled and Chloe left.

Emily and Hilary had agreed to do presents in the morning and then meet at Emily's house at 9:30 for breakfast.

"Did you have a good day?" Emily asked throwing one arm around Isabella's shoulder as they walked to the couch.

"Yeah" Bella smiled and walked to the couch where Penelope was sitting. Emily pulled her arm making her stop and look at her for an explanation.

"Sit here with me. I need some mommy-daughter time" Emily smiled and Bella laughed. Emily sat down and snuggled Bella on the couch.

They watched a movie and Bella ended up falling asleep.

"She's out" Jeremy smiled as he saw Bella had fallen asleep.

Emily looked at the girl and smiled too. They finished watching the movie and Emily carried Bella upstairs.

"Penelope you can stay on her bed again. I'll take her to mine" Emily said and Penelope smiled.

"We'll make a bed here" Jeremy said.

"I'll get the things" Emily said and went upstairs.

Emily put the girl down. She took Bella's shoes off and covered her up. She placed a kiss on the girl's forehead. "Goodnight monkey" she said and went to get the things for Jeremy.

"Make yourself at home" she told him. "Goodnight" he smiled.

So Emily went back up and changed her clothes. She put on pajamas and then laid next to her sleeping daughter. Emily smiled as Bella grabbed a handful of her shirt. She could see the kid wanted her close. She soothed the girl's hair and said "I love you".

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* * *

 **(Saturday)**

Emily woke up early that morning and she was really excited. She had not spent last year's Christmas with Bella because the team had a case.

She got out of bed and headed to the closet downstairs.

She found Jeremy and Marley in the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas" Jeremy smiled.

"Merry Christmas" Emily said walking to him. She hugged Marley and then Jeremy. "Is she still sleeping?" He asked.

"Yeah" Emily smiled and walked to the closet. She grabbed a luggage and took it to the living room. She had kept two presents hidden there. She knew Bella didn't believe in Santa anymore, she stopped believing when she was 7, but Emily wanted to surprise her. She put the gifts under the Christmas tree and smiled as she noticed there were some presents there that she did not get and she had not seen it the day before.

"Garcia" Emily smiled and put the bag away.

"Do you guys need any help?" Emily asked as she saw Jeremy was starting to make waffles.

"No it's alright." He said.

"Yeah. Go stay with your girl" Marley smiled and Emily smiled back and headed back upstairs.

Bella was still sleeping so she changed her clothes and laid again next to the girl.

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Isabella woke up it was 8:10am.

"Merry Christmas" Emily said softly as soon as the girl opened her eyes.

Bella smiled and hugged her mom.

"Do you think Santa Claus came?" Emily asked making a face.

Bella smiled as Emily pushed hair away from her face.

"Let's go see" Emily said and Bella sat up.

"Wait a little more" Bella said making a face and lying back down.

Suddenly Penelope walked in.

"I heard voices!" She said jumping on the bed and hugging Bella.

"Merry Christmas!" She said excited giving the girl a big hug.

"Merry Christmas" Bella smiled.

"Let's go downstairs now?" Emily said.

"Yeah! Yeah! I think Santa came!" Penelope really excited.

"You know he's not real right?" Bella told her.

"Yes he is! Leave me alone" Penelope joked and they walked downstairs.

.

"Oh my goodness" Bella said as she saw the amount of presents under the tree.

"I told you he came!" Penelope smiled at how surprised Bella was.

"Merry Christmas" Jeremy said and Bella went and gave him a hug.

"Come on. Let's open them" Emily smiled and they walked and sat close to the tree.

Bella grabbed a bag and said "oldest first" and smiled at Emily.

"Did you buy this?" Emily asked grabbing the bag.

"Yeah." Bella said and smiled at Penelope. She had asked the woman to take her to the mall a few days before Christmas when Emily was in Mississippi for a case.

Emily smiled and pulled her present from the bag. "Thank you honey" she smiled as she saw Bella bought her a new leather wallet.

"You're welcome" Bella smiled proudly. "There's more!" The girl said and grabbed a bigger bag.

"Oh my god Bella" Emily said taking the gift out. It was a new bag that matched the wallet.

"You needed something new to put your wallet in" Bella smiled.

"Thank you" Emily said and gave the girl a hug.

"Alright, Penelope now" Bella said.

"No! Wait! I got you something too" Penelope said grabbing a gift and handing it to Emily.

"We did too" Jeremy said and grabbed another bag.

Emily opened Penelope's first and it was a gift card to Starbucks, two bath bombs and a pretty navy blue shirt. "Thank you Penelope" Emily smiled and opened Jeremy's. It was a blue photo album with no pictures in it.

"You can fill it up with new ones" Jeremy smiled signing Bella, and Emily smiled back and said "thank you so much".

"Alright, now you!" Bella told Penelope and the woman started opening her presents. Bella had bought her Aunt a new doctor who throw, and Doctor who Christmas lights. Emily had bought Penelope a few movies and a new keyboard. The woman was very happy with her gifts.

Jeremy and Marley were next and they were surprised Emily and Penelope had got them things too. Penelope bought him a Dallas Cowboys jersey and Emily bought him and Marley tickets to see a game.

"Oh wow" Jeremy said when he saw what it was. "Thank you so much" he smiled.

"This one is from me" Bella smiled and handed them a small bag. Emily smiled because she already knew what it was.

Jeremy opened and found a key.

"What's this?" He asked.

"It's a key, dummy" Bella smiled and he just gave her a look.

"It's the key to here. So you can come see me anytime you want" Bella smiled and looked at Emily who was smiling too.

Yes, Jeremy was a jerk before but he was Isabella's brother and back then he believed he was doing the right thing even though he wasn't. Isabella loved him and she wanted him close. So she asked Emily if she could buy him a plane ticket so he could come back soon and Emily suggested giving him the key to the apartment, which Bella loved.

"Thank you so much" Jeremy smiled and Bella have him a big hug.

"I love you" Jeremy said on the girl's ear. "And I'm sorry for what I did" he added.

Bella smiled and said "I love you too" and let go of the hug.

"Alright, now your turn young lady" Penelope smiled handing a bag to Bella.

"Who is this from?" Bella asked smiling excited.

"It's from Santa." Penelope said.

"Penny!" Bella said.

"Alright, it's from Santa Garcia" Penelope smiled and Bella started to open it.

It was an "Anger" plush from "Inside Out".

"Thank you" Bella smiled and hugged Penelope.

"There's more there's more" Penelope smiled and handed her some other bags. The girl opened and it was all the other characters.

"You shouldn't have given me all of them" Bella said.

"Of course I should" Garcia smiled.

"From me, there's just one more." Garcia said handing a box to Bella. "But I can see your mom spoiled you pretty good" she said looking at all the other presents.

Emily and Bella laughed and Bella unwrapped the box.

"Oh my god! An iPhone?!" Bella said and Penelope and Emily smiled. Penelope had asked Emily if she could get it for the girl.

"It's the new one. You needed an upgrade girly and I'm your tech Aunt so it was fitted" Penelope smiled.

"Thank you thank you thank you" Bella said and hugged Penelope.

"You're very welcome" Garcia smiled.

"Now these are from me" Emily said handing Bella three bags and a box.

Isabella opened it all very excited. She got new clothes and two new books.

"Thank you mom" Bella smiled.

"There are two more" Emily smiled and handed one of the bags she had hidden.

Bella opened the biggest one and smiled when she saw what it was. She got a Doctor Who bundle, with two seasons of the show, a shirt and 3 pairs of socks.

"Thank you" she smiled and hugged Emily.

"The last one we have to wait for Hilary to come here" Emily said and Bella looked intrigued but she smiled knowing Emily was up to something.

"So we have two gifts for you" Marley said.

"Grab the pink bag" Jeremy said and Bella did what was told.

She opened it and smiled when she saw she got a beautiful dark blue picture frame. The picture made her smile happy, but feel a little sad too. It was the picture from her last birthday with her dad, the one they were all dirty from the cake fight.

"Thank you" Bella smiled and hugged Jeremy.

She let go and stared at Emily.

The moment Emily saw the girl's face she knew Bella was about to cry.

"Come here" she said and Bella sat on her lap and started crying. Emily wrapped her arms around her and just let her cry.

"I miss him mommy" Bella said. Jeremy sat next to Emily and held the girl's hand.

"We all do, Bellie" He said.

"I just wish he was here" Bella said a bit calmer now and Jeremy gave her hand a squeeze.

Penelope had tears in her eyes, she hated seeing the girl crying.

"Well, we have one last present" Jeremy said with a smile. Bella looked at him and didn't understand how he was smiling.

"Come on, open it" Jeremy said and handed a purple bag to Bella and moved to the side.

The girl sat between Emily and him and opened the bag. She pulled another picture frame out, a light blue one, and just looked confused when she saw the picture in it.

"What's this?" Bella asked confused.

"Oh my god!" Emily said looking at Marley, as she saw what it was.

"Well... That's the baby inside Marley's tummy" Jeremy said and Bella's jaw dropped.

"What? Are you serious?!" She asked in disbelief.

"I'm serious" Jeremy smiled at her cute reaction.

"You're pregnant?" She asked Marley with a super excited face.

"Yes" Marley smiled.

"Oh my god" Bella said and hugged Jeremy. "I'm gonna be an Aunt!" She laughed. "This is crazy" she added and everybody laughed.

"Oh you have another gift inside the bag" Jeremy said handing the bag to her again.

She pulled another picture frame out, this time it was pink, and it had another ultrasound picture in it.

"Why did you get me two?" She asked confused.

"Well..." Jeremy started saying with a big smile but Bella cut him off.

"No! There are two! Two babies?" She said in disbelief. "Are you having twins?" She asked as her eyes filled with tears.

"Yes" Marley smiled.

"Oh my god" Bella said and started crying again but this time from happiness. Jeremy pulled her to his lap.

"Congratulations" Emily said standing up and hugging Marley.

"Oh babies!" Penelope said putting her hand on Marley's stomach and they all laughed.

"Oh my god" Bella said letting out a deep breath.

No one had noticed because Marley always wore lose shirts.

"I'm so happy!" Bella told Jeremy and he smiled and hugged her. "I can't believe I'm gonna be an aunt" she said.

"You'll be the best aunt" Jeremy smiled and tickled her tummy making her giggle.

Bella wiped her tears and hugged him again.

"You're going to be a dad" the girl smiled sweetly.

"I am" Jeremy smiled too.

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Around 9:30, Hilary knocked on the door and Bella ran to open.

"Merry Christmas" Millie said as soon as the door opened and gave Bella a hug. Bella lifted the girl up and said "Merry Christmas". Then she hugged Hilary and Chloe and they walked in.

"You will not believe what happened!" Bella told them with a big smile.

"What?" Chloe asked excited.

"Marley is pregnant!" Bella said smiling.

Their jaws dropped.

"With twins!" Bella added.

"Oh my god! Congratulations" Hilary said and gave Marley a hug.

"You're gonna be an Aunt?" Chloe said.

"Yeah!" Bella smiled. She was so happy.

"Look what I got for Christmas!" Millie said excited showing Bella her brand new doll.

Bella laughed and payed attention to the little one who started showing her everything the doll did.

"That's cool" Bella said.

"What did you get?" Bella asked Chloe.

"A bunch of stuff. I think my mom went a bit mental this year" Chloe said and Bella laughed.

"Garcia AND my mom went mental" Bella said and the girl's walked to the living room.

"Wow" Chloe said looking at all the presents. Emily had taken the bags and the wrapping papers away and left a pile of presents with everything Bella got.

"Oh you got this book" Chloe said as she spotted "let It Snow" in the pile.

The kids sat on the ground and started going through all the presents.

After a while Hilary called them to go have breakfast.

They ate waffles and pancakes and French toast, all of Isabella's favorite breakfast foods. It was amazing.

After breakfast the kids watched a movie and played with their gifts.

"Well, Santa left a gift for Bella and Chloe here" Emily smiled.

"Go get it Bell" she told the girl who ran and got a box from under the tree.

Hilary told them to sit in the island stool.

"Now open together." Hilary told them. She had planned it all with Emily weeks ago.

Bella and Chloe opened the box and just looked confused till the realized what it was.

"Merry Christmas!" Hilary smiled.

"Oh my goodness!" Chloe said.

"What did you get?" Jeremy asked walking to them.

"Plane tickets to New York" Bella said smiling.

"It's from Emily and I" she whispered to them because Millie was there, and they laughed. "Emily will take you two because I'll be working next week" Hilary said.

"We're going next week?" Bella asked surprised.

"Yes." Emily smiled.

"For how long?" Bella asked.

"Three days" Hilary said.

"Yes!" The girls said in unison super excited.

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Beside John not being there and Bella clearly missing him a lot, Emily could see the girl was having a good Christmas. She knew gifts couldn't buy the child's happiness but the people in there were helping the girl feel better.

The day went on and Bella and Chloe were super excited making plans for New York. They sat in the dining room and looked up on the Internet things they could do. They were so happy to go to New York together.

Later the team arrived, everyone was happy to learn that Marley was pregnant.

"You're gonna be Auntie Bella" Morgan told the girl who laughed.

They had bought some gifts to the girl and Emily made them put it under the tree so Bella could open it later since the girl was playing with the other kids. Bella and Emily had picked out things for them too so they opened it and everybody loved it.

The day went on and they ended up having a really good Christmas.

Emily felt so good for having her house full of people.

Later at night Hilary went home with the girls, then Rossi, JJ, Will and Henry left.

"We're gonna go to the hotel" Jeremy said and he left with Marley.

"Can you open your gifts now?" Penelope asked Bella excited.

Bella looked at Emily who smiled so the girl went and opened it.

From Rossi she got two books, from JJ she got some tsum tsums and a movie, from Spencer she got a new bundle edition of "wicked" and "Son Of A Witch".

"Your mom said you didn't have the second one" Reid told her when she was about to open.

From Morgan she got a big Star Wars Lego set.

"I saw the Legos in your room and I thought we could maybe assemble this together" Derek said.

"Thank you" Bella smiled and hugged him.

"You guys didn't have to give me anything" Bella said and everyone smiled.

"Let's go play" Garcia said grabbing the Lego box and running to the dining room table.

"Hey! That's hers" Morgan said running after her and Bella followed him, leaving Emily and Spencer laughing in the living room.

"Should we go too?" Emily asked Reid and grabbed his hand. So to the dining room table they went.

They had a lot of fun putting together the Lego. They finished it all super late at night.

"That looks awesome" Garcia said as they started at the millennium falcon.

"Thank you Uncle Morgan" Bella smiled. "I'm gonna put it on my nightstand" Bella added and they all laughed.

"Well... We should head home Kid. It's pretty late" Derek told Spencer who nodded.

"I should go to" Penelope said. "I need to see if Santa stopped by my house" she said and everyone laughed.

They said their goodbyes and went home, leaving Bella and Emily alone in the apartment.

"Let's take this to your room?" Emily asked Bella who smiled and nodded yes.

Emily took it upstairs and Bella followed her with some of her other gifts.

"Do you want it here?" Emily asked putting it on the nightstand on the right side.

"Yeah" Bella said and walked out to get her other things.

They took everything upstairs and Bella started to organize her room a bit. She left all the Inside Out plushes on her bed, put new tsum tsums with the rest of her collection, put the new books in a separate shelf, put her clothes in the wardrobe, put the twin pictures on her desk and put the family picture in the nightstand on the left side.

"I love that photo" Emily said smiling and throwing one arm around Bella.

"Me too" Bella said as her voice got thick. She hugged Emily waist. Emily felt the girl start to cry so she lifted her up. She didn't sob or anything like that. Just a few tears fell.

Emily sat on the bed with the girl on her lap.

"He would have loved seeing the house so full" Bella said.

"He would" Emily smiled.

Bella sat up straight and looked in her mother's eyes. "I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily smiled and put a lock of hair behind the girl's ear.

Bella smiled back even though some tears were still falling.

Emily wiped the girl's face. "Your dad would be so proud of you. You are so tough, you know that?" Emily said wiping Bella's face.

"I'm tough like you" Bella said and hugged Emily.

"Your way tougher than me baby" Emily said. "In fact you are tougher, and cuter, and sweeter, and snugglier, and way more awesome than me" Emily said giving Bella a kiss with every compliment she said, making the girl laugh.

"Mom, I'm pretty sure snugglier is not a real word" Bella said and Emily laughed.

"See. You're even smarter" Emily said giving Bella another kiss. The girl laughed and kissed Emily's cheek.

"You're the best mom ever" Bella said.

Emily smiled as she heard that phrase for the first time in 11 years.

"I love you" she told the girl as she squeezed her in a hug.

"I can't breathe" Bella joked and Emily let go.

She smelled Bella, made a face, smelled her again and said "you need a shower"

Bella laughed and walked to her wardrobe. She grabbed pajamas and went inside the bathroom.

Emily started at the picture in the night stand and whispered "Merry Christmas John".

She got up and went to take a shower too.

Once Bella was done she put her pajamas on, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, grabbed her blanket and went to Emily's bed.

Emily got out of the bathroom to find the girl passed out on the bed. She smiled at how often that happened.

She turned the light off and took the spot next to her daughter.

"Goodnight" she said and kissed the girl's forehead. Bella moved closer to her in her sleep and Emily threw one arm over the girl.

Emily payed attention to Bella's breathing and soon fell asleep.


	68. Chapter 68: Midnight

…

Sunday was a chilled day. Emily and Bella spent the day at home with Jeremy and Marley and later in the afternoon Chloe stopped by. Everybody had a lot of fun playing board games together.

 **.**

On Monday, Emily had to go back to work so she left Bella with Jeremy and Marley.

Isabella had made huge progress when it came to Emily's work. The girl was fine with it now and even though she always told Emily to be careful she never cried about her leaving.

So that Monday was no different.

"Be careful mommy" Bella told Emily on the phone after Emily said she was going to Houston on a case.

The girl spent the day walking around the city with her brother and Marley. They had lunch at Outback and then went to a museum.

Around 3:30 they went to the BAU.

"Follow me" Bella said heading to Penelope's office. Jeremy and Marley said their goodbyes and left Bella there. They went to the hotel and finished packing, then they went to the airport.

At the BAU, Bella had a great afternoon. There weren't so many people there which Bella thought it was weird. She wished her mom had time off during the holidays but she knew serial killers don't wait till the holidays are over. So she understood they had to work.

Around 6:30, Penelope ordered Mexican food and Bella was excited to eat. It had been a while since she had had Mexican. They ate together and then Penelope was back working. Later at night, 10:45, Hotch called and told Garcia to go home because they were heading to the hotel.

Isabella now loved staying at Penelope's house. She always had so much fun and she loved to have "movie nights" with her Aunt.

"What are we watching tonight?" Bella asked as they walked inside.

"You pick" Garcia smiled and the girl ran to the DVDs.

They had a great night and both ended up sleeping on the couch.

.

The next day, Tuesday, Bella spent the morning at the office with Penelope and she was super excited when Emily returned later that day. They went home, packed for the nyc trip and then snuggled on the couch.

The case involved children and this time it didn't end well. So when Emily got home all she wanted was to hold her baby.

And that's what she did.

Later at night Emily took sleeping Bella to bed and laid next to the girl. The thought of not having the girl next to her scared her. She needed that that night.

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 **(Wednesday)**

The next morning Bella woke up with a loud noise. It was Emily accidently dropping two bags down the stairs. The girl sat up on the bed and was confused with how she got there.

She looked around the room and suddenly Emily walked in.

"Good morning" Emily said. "Sorry about the noise. The bag slipped"

"Morning" Bella said confused.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

"How did I get to your bed?" Bella asked.

"I brought you up" Emily smiled and walked to the girl. "I needed you close" Emily smiled and gave Bella a hug. Bella smiled back.

"Let's go eat breakfast?" Emily said.

"Nooooo" Bella said and laid back down.

"Come on! New York waits for you" Emily said smiling and walking to the door. Bella jumped out of bed and grabbed her mother's hand. The day was finally there!

"Good morning" Bella said smiling. Emily smiled back and they walked to the kitchen.

They had breakfast, got ready, picked Chloe up and headed to the airport.

Inside the plane the three of them sat together, Bella in the middle. It was a really quick flight and the girls were super happy to land in NYC.

"So first. Luggage. Then car. Then Hotel. Then… Central Park" Emily said and the girl's smiled.

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They had a very fun day. They walked around Central Park and even went to the Zoo. They had lunch at a pizza place and then went to Times Square.

"This is so beautiful" Chloe said looking around the place.

Suddenly Bella saw they were starting to put up a stage.

"Mom, what day is today?" Bella asked.

"December 29" Emily said. "Why?" She asked.

"Are we staying for New Year's and stuff?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily smiled and both girls hugged her. The they went and got tickets to see Wicked.

.

"This is the best day of my life" Chloe smiled and they walked inside the theater later that day.

Bella held Emily's hand through the whole show. She was so happy to be there with her mom.

"Did you guys enjoy?" Emily asked the girls as the lights turned back on.

"Loved it so so much!" Bella said hugging Emily.

"I love it too Emily" Chloe smiled.

"Can we go to the stage door?" Bella asked excited.

"sure" Emily smiled and they went there.

The girls were super excited to meet the cast. They took pictures and got autographs.

"What now?" Bella asked as they walked down the street.

"Hotel... And room service?" Emily said making a begging face.

"Sure" the girls said in unison and they all laughed.

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The next morning the girls were very excited for the day. Emily had promised to go ice skating at the Rockefeller and they could not wait.

They ate breakfast and headed out the door.

 **.**

"It's been so long since the last time I did this" Chloe said as she put on the skates.

"You'll do fine" Bella said.

"well, I in the other hand will probably fall 100 times" Emily said and the girls laughed. "Maybe even 200" Emily added.

"Let's go in?" Bella said and they stepped on the ice.

They skated around and it didn't take long for Chloe to fall.

"Are you alright?" Bella asked helping her get up.

"Yeah" Chloe laughed. "Maybe I should do like your mom though" Chloe said and they looked at Emily who was close to the wall skating very slowly. It had been years since the last time she had done that.

Bella laughed and said "let me go help her"

She skated to Emily and grabbed her hand.

"No no. I'm fine. I'm doing fine here" Emily said holding to the wall as the girl tried pulling her away.

"Mom if you don't let go you'll never be good at it" Bella said.

"It's okay baby I don't have to be good at this. We're just having fun" Emily said.

"Well Chloe and I are but you're not even close to us. Come on" Bella said begging. "What's the worst that can happen? You'll fall on your bum and then you'll get back up" the girl said and Emily smiled. How could she say no to that?

"So please teach me" Emily smiled.

Bella showed her what to do and they did together slowly.

"You're doing good" Bella said.

"You're too nice" Chloe said and they laughed.

"Come on mom. Now do that by yourself" Bella said letting go of her mother's hand.

Emily skated for a while but quickly lost her balanced and fell on her bum. The girls bursted into laughter.

"Oh God, someone help me get up!" Emily said and the girl helped her.

"I think I should sit a little" Emily said.

"No" Bella said grabbing her hand again and pulling her.

They went around the rink together twice and then Emily said she had to sit so she got out and left the girls there.

"The things we do for our kids, right?" A woman told her as she stepped out and the woman got in. Emily laughed and took a seat to take the skates off.

Sometime later Bella and Chloe got out and said they were tired so they decided to leave.

"Where do you guys want to go now?" Emily asked as they walked out.

"What are the plans for today?" Chloe asked.

"Well, we're free to explore the city till 6." Emily said.

"Can we go see the Statue of Liberty?" Chloe asked.

Emily looked at Bella. She knew the kid never really liked to go there.

"It's fine. Just this time" Bella said and they headed there.

They went on the boat that got close to it and took a bunch of pictures.

Once they got back to the land Bella asked if they could have lunch at the Eloise place at the Plaza.

"Sure" Emily said. She was excited to see the place and Bella had talked about that a lot when she went last time.

So to the Plaza they went.

And it couldn't have gone any better.

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After eating lunch Emily took the girls to the MET. After walking around for a while, they went to the hotel to get ready to go out at night.

Bella walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"Fancy clothes tonight girls" Emily said.

"Why? Where are we going?" Bella asked taking a navy blue dress out of her bag.

"We're going to see Matilda and then we have reservations at Sardi's" Emily said smiling.

"Really?" Chloe asked as her eyes widened.

"Really" Emily smiled.

"Oh my god!" Chloe said and walked inside the bathroom to shower.

Bella walked to Emily, who was sitting on the bed, and gave her a hug. Emily pulled the girl to her lap.

"Are you having fun?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. "I always wanted to do all these things with you" she said as her eyes filled with tears. "And now we are doing it all" Bella said.

Emily smiled and hugged the girl again.

"Thank you mom" Bella said with a smile.

"You're welcome" Emily smiled. "Now go get ready." Emily said and the girl went.

It wasn't long till Chloe got out and got ready to.

And to Matilda they went.

The show was amazing and once again they stopped at the stage door. They didn't stay for long because of the reservation at Sardi's but they had a great time.

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"I cannot believe I'm here" Chloe said as they walked inside Sardi's.

"It's so cool right?!" Bella said taking Emily's hand.

"Do you have reservation?" A lady asked.

"Yes. It's Emily Prentiss" Emily said and the lady checked.

"Table for 3?" The woman asked.

"Yes" Emily said.

"Follow me please" she said and they followed her.

They sat and got menus.

"Pick whatever you guys want, okay?" Emily said and the girls smiled.

The stared at the menu and didn't even see who was sitting two tables away from them.

It was Laura and Bonnie. The ones who worked with the choir.

The two women saw the girls and Emily and they had to say hello.

They walked and surprised them.

"Hi" Bella said and Laura hugged her.

"How are you guys doing?" Bonnie asked.

"Good" the girls said.

"What are you two up to in New York?" Laura asked the kids.

"Just traveling" Chloe said while Bella looked a bit shy.

"You guys should come sit with us" Laura said.

"Yeah! Come on! It's my birthday" Bonnie said.

"Congrats" Emily smiled.

"Thanks" Bonnie smiled back. "Come on now!" Bonnie said and they got a waitress who moved them to a table next to Bonnie's.

"Don't you talk anymore?" Laura asked as she walked beside Bella to the table.

Bella just smiled shyly. The fact was that she was a little embarrassed. But the dinner went great. They ate and then sang happy birthday to Bonnie and even got cake. As the night went on Bella got more comfortable around them and chit chatted and everything. The girls also liked meeting some other actors that were there.

Around 10, Emily thought they should go to the hotel. The kids looked a bit tired.

"It was so nice seeing you guys!" Laura said hugging Chloe goodbye.

"Thanks for the cake" Bella said and they all laughed.

"Well, now that we know we like the same cake you better invite me for your birthday, young lady" Bonnie said and Bella smiled.

"Bye" Bella said giving Bonnie a hug.

They went outside, got on a cab and went to the hotel. The girls were exhausted.

"I need a bed" Chloe said walking inside their hotel room. She went straight to the bed and threw herself there.

"Brush your teeth girls. Then bed" Emily smiled.

Bella went and did what was told. Then Chloe went to the bathroom.

Both kids changed into pajamas and laid down to sleep.

Emily walked inside the bathroom to do the same and when she walked out they were fast asleep hugging each other.

Emily let out a laugh and went to bed too. She texted Garcia and Hilary about the trip and then went to sleep.

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Friday got there like a flash.

The girls could not believe it was already New Year's Eve.

"Are we gonna watch the fireworks?" Bella asked.

"Sure. Why not?" Emily smiled.

 **.**

They spent the day walking around the city and later at night they went to Times Square. The place was very crowed and chaotic but for Emily's luck they could see everything just fine from the hotel's entrance so they stayed around there.

The girls were so excited when the clock hit midnight. They screamed happily like everyone around them.

Emily hugged Bella from behind and said "a kiss for good luck?"

The girl turned around, Emily picked her up and kissed her cheek.

"I love you Bells" Emily said. That was their first New Year's Eve together.

"I love you too" Bella said.

"I love you two too" Chloe said hugging them and they all laughed.

Emily put Bella down and hugged Chloe.

"Let's go inside and order some ice cream?" Emily smiled.

"Yes!" The girls said in unison and very excited.

They went up to their room and had a great texted Hilary and then the team wishing everyone a happy new year. They watched some tv and ate, and Emily could see both girls were really happy.

Around 2am they decided to get ready for bed. Bella changed her clothes and brushed her teeth and then sat on Emily's bed while Chloe went to the bathroom.

"Mom" Bella said.

"Yes honey?" Emily asked turning to look at the girl.

"I love you" Bella said and laid her head on Emily's lap.

Emily smiled "I love you too" she said pushing hair away from the girl's face.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Bella asked sitting up and then laying down on the bed and making herself comfortable.

"You sure can" Emily said and kissed the girl's cheek again.

Suddenly Chloe got out.

"I'm gonna stay on this bed tonight, okay?" Bella told Chloe.

"Sure" the girl smiled and got on the other bed.

Emily walked in the bathroom and just like the day before when she walked out the kids were asleep.

This time she turned the light off and took the place next to her daughter. She pulled the covers up and kissed the girl's forehead. "Goodnight monkey" she said and laid down.

It wasn't long till she was asleep.

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The next day the girls were not so happy to go home but they had to agree they had a wonderful time.

"Maybe one day we can come back again" Bella told Chloe and Emily smiled.

"Like one day very soon?" Chloe asked Emily who laughed and said "we'll see".

They got to DC around 11am and headed straight home.

Chloe was super excited to tell her mom everything they did and to show her all the pictures.

"Well, we should go. I think this one might need a little nap" Emily said as she noticed Bella looked sleepy.

"Oh yeah the New York City life got her pretty bad" Hilary joked.

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At home Bella went straight to her room. She took her shoes off and laid on the bed. Emily put the bags in her room and went to check on the girl. When she walked inside, Bella was asleep. She covered the girl up and went to take a bath. She felt exhausted.

She took her time and when she finished, she checked on the girl again and she was still out. So Emily went downstairs and cooked spaghetti for lunch. She woke Bella up, they ate and then sat on the couch to watch tv together.

The rest of the day went fine. They just chilled and then unpacked. Later at night they sat to watch a movie in Emily's bedroom and Bella ended up falling asleep. So Emily let her stay there for the night.

She finished watching the movie and fell asleep too.

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The next day Penelope stopped by. She wanted to know everything about the trip.

Emily loved how excited Bella got when she talked about everything that happened.

They met Derek and Reid for lunch at a local restaurant and Bella invited them to the apartment to help her put together a new Lego set she had bought in New York.

They spent the afternoon chatting and assembling Legos.

"We should do this more often." Derek said as Bella got back from upstairs with another small set.

"Well... I'm gonna need more Legos for that. This is all I've got you know" Bella said.

"Bella!" Emily said and everybody laughed.

"Well it's the truth" Bella said.

"I'm sure we can do something about that" Penelope said.

"Oh my God no" Emily said. "My house is going to be full of Legos now"

"I'm okay with that" Bella said and they laughed.

They really had a really great day and everybody agreed to stop by again some other day.

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That Monday morning Emily had to go back to work. Sadly she didn't have a holiday break like most people. So to the BAU she went and she took Bella with her.

She traveled on two cases that week and on Thursday night Bella was happy to finally get her mom back.

Hotch gave the team the Friday off. So Emily spent the day at home with Bella. They just hung out all day. Both glad to be home together.

On Saturday Penelope and Derek stopped by to watch a movie with them in the afternoon.

"So what are we watching?" Bella asked sitting next to Morgan on the couch. Emily handed her the popcorn bowl and said "Resident Evil".

"Zombie movie?" Bella asked surprised.

"yeah" Derek smiled.

 **.**

They had a great time and Bella wasn't so happy when they left.

"We'll see you soon" Morgan said giving her a hug.

"School is back on Monday" Bella said.

"And you'll be running around the office on Monday too" Derek told her.

Bella hugged Penelope goodbye and they left.

"I thought you were excited to see Gavin and Rose" Emily said as they walked to the living room.

"I kind of am, I guess" Bella said even though she didn't look very happy.

Emily gave her a look.

"I just like being at home…with you." the girl said. "and them" she added. Them = the team.

Emily smiled understanding and they sat to watch tv.

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Sunday was another chilled day but around 5pm Chloe called and invited Bella to go to a birthday party with her and Millie.

So Bella went to get ready while Emily watched tv.

The girl showered quickly, put her clothes on, and went downstairs.

"Mom, can you braid my hair?" She asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled.

Bella sat on the floor and Emily did two French braids.

"You should go out too" Bella said.

"Oh no. This couch is calling me today" Emily said.

"Come on mom. You never go out… with just grownups I mean" Bella said.

"I like going out with you" Emily said and Bella smiled.

"Come on I'll drop you off" Emily said and they went out.

Emily left Bella at Hilary's house and went back home. She sat on the couch and turned the tv back on. Bella got back at 10 and sat with her to watch the end of the movie. The girl fell asleep and Emily decided to carry her up. She put the girl on the bed and went to her room. She showered and then headed to bed.

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 **(Monday)**

Emily woke up with the alarm clock and went to get Bella.

"Hey. Wake up baby" she said running her hand on the girl's back.

Bella moved a little but didn't open her eyes.

"Wake up sleepy head" Emily said giving the girl a kiss on the cheek.

Bella opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around Emily's neck.

"Good morning" Emily smiled.

"Morning" Bella said.

"Time for school. Come on" Emily said.

Bella let go of her and they went to get ready.

They met again at the kitchen island for breakfast.

"Did you carry me to bed again?" Bella asked.

"yup" Emily said taking a sip of her coffee.

"sorry" Bella said.

"it's alright baby" Emily said with a smile and put her coffee cup on the sink. "Come on. We're gonna be late" she said and walked upstairs to get her bag.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Bella went to see who it was and it was Hilary and Chloe.

"Hi" Hilary said as Bella opened the door.

"Good morning" Bella smiled.

"Where's your mom?" Hilary asked.

"She went to get her bag" Bella said. "Why?"

"Millie is feeling sick so I was wondering if Chloe could ride to school with you" Hilary said.

"Sure she can" Bella smiled. "Come on in Chlo" she said and Chloe walked inside.

"Tell your mom thanks" Hilary smiled and left.

Bella smiled and went to finish her cereal.

"Hi Chloe" Emily said as she got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hi" Chloe said.

"Mom, Millie is sick so Chloe is riding with us, okay?" Bella said putting her bowl on the sink.

"Sure" Emily smiled. "Let's go then?" She said and Bella got her backpack and they headed out.

 **.**

"So I see you at 3:30 or 5?" Emily asked as she parked the car in front of the school.

"5. There's choir today. I'll ride the bus with Gav. You don't have to pick me up" Bella said.

"Okay. But anything just call" Emily smiled and gave Bella a hug.

"Okay. Bye" the girl said.

"Bye Emily" Chloe smiled.

"Have fun girls" Emily said and they got out of the car and walked to school. Bella waved goodbye to Emily and the woman drove away.

Suddenly someone hugged Bella from behind.

"Rose!" Chloe said excited to see her friend.

"Hi" Rose smiled and hugged Chloe.

"How was LA?" Bella asked.

"It was cool." Rose smiled. "But my aunt and uncle are crazy" she said and Bella and Chloe laughed.

Suddenly Gavin got there and hugged all of them.

"How was Idaho?" Rose asked.

"It was pretty awesome" Gavin said and they headed to class.

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"How's it going stranger" Penelope asked.

"Everything is going great" Emily said smiling as they walked to the conference room.

"Well, There's a call for you from a Sean McCallister. It came to my phone accidentally. It sounded hot... and important" Garcia said handing Emily a piece of paper. Emily tried not to look too intrigued.

"Did he leave a message?" Emily asked.

"No, but it's from Paris." Garcia said and Emily stayed quiet. "So... Is he an ex?" Penelope asked. "International butty call?" She asked and they walked inside the conference room.

"No. He's a friend" Emily said and took a seat.

"Murder in Montana." Hotch said walking in.

And just like that the subject changed and in little time they were off to Montana.

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Bella was in school when she got a text from Emily.

"I'm going to Montana. Garcia will pick you up today. I love you - Mom"

Bella sent "okay. Be careful. I love you too". And put her phone back in her pencil case.

"Hey what's up?" Chloe asked as she noticed Isabella seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

"Oh" Bella said with a little jump. "Nothing. My mom is heading to Montana."

Chloe just stared.

"Garcia will pick me up" Bella said not really understanding why.

"Cool" Chloe said and Bella went back to copying what was on the board.

 **.**

Once school was done, they headed to choir and it went great. Mister Levi had heard from his friends about the girls in New York so he went to talk to them about it. When choir practice ended, Bella walked to the entrance to find Penelope there.

"Hey. How was your day?" Penelope asked giving the girl a hug.

"Fine" Bella said. She waved goodbye to her friends and they went to the car.

At the BAU, Bella did her homework and then watched movies on Netflix for the rest of the day, while Garcia worked.

Bella fell asleep at 10:30 and around 2am they headed to Penelope's house.

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 **(Tuesday)**

For Bella the day went great. Penelope dropped her off at school and she had a great time.

.

Emily was at a crime scene with Morgan when she got a text. "We need to talk" and it was from Sean McCallister. She looked a bit shocked and a bit scared even though she tried to hide.

"Prentiss" Morgan said.

Her eyes were a bit widened.

"Yeah, it's nothing" she said putting her phone away. "What if he didn't do it? What if she pulled the trigger?" She said about the case...

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Around 2:30pm, Emily called Hilary.

"Hi, is everything okay? Chloe told me you're in Montana" Hilary said.

"I'm actually in Spokane right now" Emily said. "I was wondering if you could take Bella home with you? It's just that things are heated at the office you know" Emily said.

"Of course I can" Hilary said. She usually worked 8am to 3pm and then worked from home.

"Thank you so much" Emily said relieved. She knew that if it was something really really dangerous Sean would have called her again. But she wanted to make sure Bella wasn't alone at any time.

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So at 3:30, Hilary was waiting for the girls at the school entrance.

"Bella you're coming home with us today" Hilary said.

"Did something happen?" The girl asked a little scared. Emily didn't text her to tell and she usually did that.

"No no honey. Everything is fine. It's just that your mama said that people are really busy at the office so she thought you could use some fun hanging out with us"

"Okay" Bella said and they headed home.

The kids did their homework, ate a snack, and then played till bed time.

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Around 11pm Emily landed in DC.

She texted Sean and they agreed to meet at a bar in the city.

Emily walked in and smiled when she spotted him.

"Emily " He said and she went and hugged him.

"How are you?" Emily said letting go of the hug.

They sat on a booth.

"I was gonna call you back. I just got super busy on a case" Emily said.

"It's alright." he said serious and suddenly Emily realized something was very wrong.

She stared at him waiting for him to talk when he suddenly said "Ian Doyle vanished from prison"

Fear was written all over her face.

"Interpol can't find him" Sean said.

"What?" She said in shock.

"He's off the grid Emily" Sean said.

"Do you think he's headed here?" She asked and Sean just stared.

Emily's eyes filled with tears. She could not believe that was happening.

"Am I in danger?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"All of us are" Sean said.


	69. Chapter 69: Am I in Danger?

…

"Do you think he's headed here?" She asked and Sean just stared.

Emily's eyes filled with tears. She could not believe that was happening.

"Am I in danger?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"All of us are" Sean said.

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Emily went straight home. She took her gun out and went around the apartment checking everything. She looked around the place and everything was okay.

She got her phone and called Hilary.

"Hilary?" Emily said.

"Hi is everything alright?" Hilary asked.

"Yeah. I just got back now" Emily said. "I'll be there to get Bella in a little while" she said.

"Oh no problem" Hilary said.

"Thanks." Emily said.

"See you soon" Hilary said.

"Bye" Emily said and hung up.

She walked around the house locking all the windows; she packed a go bag for her and one for Bella and put it on her closet. Then she set up the alarm and went to Hilary's house to get her daughter.

She tried to stay calm. She couldn't let the girl know what was happening.

Emily worked on Ian's case when Bella was 4. Her boss told her she would be safe and she believed him.

Emily rang Hilary's bell and soon the woman opened the door.

"She's asleep on the couch" Hilary said Emily smiled and walked inside.

"Are you alright?" Hilary asked as she noticed on Emily's face that something was wrong.

"Yeah I'm okay" Emily said.

"Hard case?" Hilary asked.

"Yeah" Emily said.

She picked Bella up, said goodnight to Hilary and went home.

She placed the girl on her bed and went back downstairs.

She blocked the door with a cabinet, in case someone tried to get in. She got a chair and placed it next to the stairs in a way she could look at the front door.

She sat on it with a loaded gun in hands.

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 **(Wednesday)**

It was almost 3 in the morning when Bella woke up from a bad dream. She tried going back to sleep but she couldn't, so she walked to Emily's bedroom. She was confused when she didn't see Emily in there.

She walked downstairs thinking maybe Emily went to get some water or something.

As she got to the last few steeps Emily jumped and pointed the gun at her, the woman was ready to fire.

Isabella jumped scared covering her ears, and threw herself on the ground as so many tears started to fall.

"I'm sorry" Emily said noticing what she had done. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" she said putting the gun down on the floor and walking to Bella who started sobbing.

"I'm sorry baby." Emily said and picked her up. She sat on the chair with the girl on her lap.

"I thought you were gonna shoot me" Bella cried.

"I'm so sorry I scared you" Emily said feeling really bad. She could feel the girl shaking. "I'm sorry. Try to calm down" she said running her hand on the girl's back.

"What are you doing here mommy?" Bella asked still crying and shaking.

"I couldn't sleep" Emily said unsure of what to tell the girl.

"You couldn't sleep so you sat here with a gun?" She asked crying.

"I'm so sorry I scared you" Emily said.

"What's going on?" Bella asked her.

Emily took some time to think and then said "look you have to promise me you won't tell anyone".

"I won't" Bella said sitting up straight to look at Emily.

"Not even Uncle Morgan or Penelope... Or your friends. You cannot tell anybody" Emily said. "Okay?" She said running her thumb on the girl's left cheek. "A few weeks ago the team had case and the unsub ended up dying." She lied. "He had a son that we didn't know about and today I found out and I went to bed and had a bad dream and couldn't sleep anymore"

"But why did you sit here with a gun mommy?" Bella asked as a few tears still streamed down her face.

"In the dream he was chasing me. So I just sat here" Emily lied.

"In case he comes here?" Bella asked a little scared.

"I don't think he'll come here honey. It's just that mommy was scared. And I'm really really sorry I scared you" she said wiping the girl's face again.

The girl rested her head on Emily's chest.

"Do you forgive me?" Emily asked and Bella nodded and said yes still crying and shaking a little.

"Let's go to the couch. Come on" Emily said. They went and snuggled on the couch together. Bella took a while to calm down but ended up sleeping, but Emily had a really hard time. She finally closed her eyes at 5:20am.

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Emily woke up with her alarm clock at 6:30. She stared at Bella who was fast asleep in her arms. She put the girl down on the couch and went upstairs. She walked inside Isabella's bedroom to get the girl's uniform but she just couldn't send Bella to school that day.

She got ready for work, then she put some clothes on a bag for Bella and got her winter coat and her red rain boots and went downstairs.

"Bella wake up, we gotta go" Emily said and Bella opened her eyes.

"You have a fever honey. You're going to work with me today, okay?" Emily lied. The girl was perfectly fine.

Bella was too sleepy; she definitely had had a bad night, so she just nodded.

"Come on. Put your coat and your boots on so we can go" Emily said and went to the medicine drawer. Bella got up and did what was told.

"You can change your clothes in the office if you want" Emily said walking back with some medicine for headache and Bella nodded and drank it. Emily knew the girl would just get a little sleepy with that so she gave it to her pretending it was for her fever.

Bella put her boots on and they headed out.

 **.**

Emily parked the car. "Put the hoodie on" she told Bella.

"It's barely raining" the girl said.

"You're sick. Put it on" Emily said serious and Bella put it on.

When they got in, Bella put the hoodie down.

"Let's go to Garcia's office" Emily said and they walked there. "Get some rest baby" Emily said walking to the couch. She knew the girl was tired from the night she had. Bella sat down and Emily got her a throw. She covered Bella up and said "I'm gonna find the team and you stay here, okay?"

"Okay" the girl said.

Emily kissed her cheek and walked out.

.

In the conference room, the team was wondering why she was late.

"Her car wasn't there when I parked mine" Reid said.

"I'm gonna call her" Penelope said walking to the door.

Suddenly Emily walked in.

"Hey" Prentiss said.

"Did someone have a long night?" Derek joked.

"Bella is in your office. She has a fever" she told Penelope, really serious, completely ignoring his joke. Morgan just stared. Emily was never like that.

Emily poured herself some coffee as Hotch started talking about the case.

In little time they were heading to L.A.

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Penelope walked inside her office to find Isabella asleep on the couch.

"Oh munchkin" she said walking to the girl. She pulled the throw a little higher and pushed hair away from the girl's face. Then she sat on her desk to work.

.

On the jet, Emily tried concentrating on the case other than Doyle.

No one had any evidence that he was in the States. She knew she was probably being paranoid and she certainly scared the crap out of Bella by spending the entire night on that chair.

She believed Isabella would be safe inside the BAU.

And she didn't want the girl to be scared.

She had to pretend everything was okay.

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Bella woke up again around 11:30am.

"Hey bunny" Garcia smiled. "How are you feeling?" She asked and the girl yawned, which made Penelope laugh.

"I was thinking about pizza for lunch. How about that?" Garcia said.

"Good" Bella said and picked up her phone.

Suddenly Penelope's phone rang and it was Morgan. They talked about the case while Bella texted Emily.

'Hi.' Bella said.

Emily who was walking back inside the station picked up her phone and answered 'I'm busy. I'll call you later. Love, mom'

Bella read it, made a face, picked up her iPad and started watching a tv show.

.

The day went on fine.

And later at night Emily called.

"Hi" Bella said.

"How was your day?" Emily asked.

"It was fine" the girl said. "Are you coming back today?"

"No, not yet" Emily said.

"So what I am supposed to do? Sleep here?" Bella asked.

"No. You're going to Penelope's house" Emily said.

"Mom, are you sure?" Bella asked almost a whisper.

"Yes baby don't worry. They got him" Emily lied. She was in fact scared about Bella going to Garcia's house but she knew she couldn't scare the girl and she definitely could not let people think something was up.

"They did?" Bella asked surprised.

"Yeah. Just a few hours ago. But look you still can't tell anyone okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said. She didn't really understood why but she promised Emily she wouldn't tell.

"Alright, I see you soon then" Emily said.

"Okay. I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily said and they hung up. Emily stared at the wall and wondered if she did the right thing. She just didn't know.

In DC Bella put her phone away and Penelope walked back inside the office to get her so they could leave.

The night at Penelope's house went okay. Bella ended up having a good night of sleep. She believed what her mother said was true.

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 **(Thursday)**

Penelope had to go to the office at 5 in the morning.

As soon as Emily found out they were going to work she called Penelope to say the team was heading to the LA police station and they needed her at the office.

"Okay. I'll be there." Penelope said. "Oh! What should I do with Bellie Bo?" She asked.

"Take her with you. Let her spend the day there. It's okay for her to miss school today, you know just to make sure the fever won't come back" Emily said.

"Alright" Penelope said.

So to the office they went.

Bella was really tired so she laid on the couch at Penelope's office and basically passed out.

 **.**

After a couple of hours the girl woke up again. She had breakfast and then read a little.

In L.A., as the day went on Morgan could definitely see something was up with Emily. But when he asked her what was going on with her she played clueless.

"Something is obviously bothering you" Derek said and she just kept her serious face. So Derek let her be.

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They solved the case and headed back to DC.

On the plane Emily got a call from Garcia asking if she could take Bella to her house for a movie night. Emily said yes. She just knew Penelope would find it strange if she said no.

"So let's go?" Penelope said excited after she hung up the phone. Isabella smiled at her and followed the woman outside.

.

Emily walked to her apartment. She unlocked the door, turned the light on and set up the alarm. She walked around the house with her gun again to check. She saw everything was fine inside the apartment so she went back to the kitchen and decided to cook some pasta.

She was almost done when someone rang the doorbell. She took her gun and walked to the door.

The bell rang again.

"Emily! It's Hilary" Hilary said and Emily breathed out relieved. She looked through the door viewer, put the gun in the holster and opened the door.

"Hi. Come on in" she smiled and Hilary walked inside.

"Where's Bella?" She asked.

"She's with Penelope" Emily said trying to look calm.

"Chloe said she's missing school" Hilary asked a little worried.

"Yeah. She had a fever" Emily said.

"Oh. I didn't hear from you for a couple days and she missed school so I wanted to check and make sure you were okay" Hilary smiled.

"Yeah we're fine" Emily smiled and Hilary smiled back. "Would you like some pasta?" Emily asked.

"No no thanks. I had dinner with the girls already" Hilary said. "Speaking of the girls... I should go back" she smiled.

They said their goodbyes and Hilary left.

Emily went back to the kitchen and finished cooking her dinner. She sat on the kitchen island to eat and couldn't stop thinking about Bella, so she called Garcia to check on the girl.

Penelope told her that Bella was fine. They were eating pizza, popcorn and candy and were watching 'The Avengers'.

Emily smiled glad the kid was alright and happy.

Penelope asked if Bella was meant to go to school on the next day and Emily said yes. She knew the girl was fine and Penelope would know there was something wrong if she said no.

She had to push herself to let the girl have a normal life. She still had no indication the man was in America and she didn't want Bella to be scared.

She finished eating, took a quick shower and took her spot in front of the door.

If she was being paranoid or not, she wasn't sure. But if Doyle went for her she would be ready, waiting for him.

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 **(Friday)**

Garcia woke up that morning and woke Bella up. They went to get ready and Bella realized she didn't have her uniform and she told Penelope she was not allowed to go without it so they went to the office. Emily was glad to see the girl there.

"Text Chloe and ask if she can get your homework" Emily told Bella.

"Okay" the little girl said and sat next to Emily's seat.

.

Around noon, the team had a case.

Emily went to the conference room and there was nobody there yet so she called one of her friends that worked with her on Doyle's case.

"Tsia, it's Emily"

"Hi" Tsia said happy to talk with her friend. "How's the little one?" She asked.

"Good... Umm...Where are you?" Emily asked serious.

"Is there something wrong?" Tsia asked noticing Emily's voice.

"Have you talked to Sean?" Emily asked.

"He's been calling me" she said.

"But you haven't talked to him?" Emily asked.

"I don't work for him Emily. I'm out"

"So is Doyle" Emily said. "Sean thinks we're in danger. But I was the one who had any personal connection to him."

"For Doyle, Lauren died in a car accident. You died. We made sure of that" Tsia said.

Emily bit her lip nervously.

"Okay? I wanna hear you say it" Tsia said.

"Lauren Reynolds is dead" Emily said and suddenly Bella walked in.

"Look you died and we're good" Tsia said.

"Just be careful. Bye" Emily said and hung up.

"Who's Lauren Reynolds?" Bella asked.

"An old friend of mine" Emily said with a little smile to hide how nervous she was.

"How did she die?" The girl asked.

"Car accident" Emily said.

Bella looked a little embarrassed for asking.

"What are you doing here baby?" Emily asked.

"I'm hungry" Bella said.

"Here" Emily said pulling 20 dollars out of her pocket. "Order a pizza. We're gonna be busy" she said and handed the money to the girl, who smiled and went back to Penelope's office to order.

"Good morning" Morgan said walking inside as Bella walked out, she smiled.

The team followed right behind and they started the briefing.

.

As the team gathered their things to go to the jet, Emily went to talk to Bella.

"Did you order?" Emily asked.

"Yup" Bella smiled. She saw Emily had her go bag in hands. "Are you leaving right now?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. It won't be long" Emily said walking to the girl who was sitting on the couch with a book in hands.

"Can you bring me something?" Bella asked and Emily laughed.

"I sure can" she said giving the girl a hug. "Be good for Penelope, okay?" Emily said.

"okay" Bella smiled. "And you be careful"

"I will" Emily said and walked out.

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Emily stayed away for 3 days.

Bella had a great time with Penelope.

On Saturday, she got a call from Tsia who let her know that her fiancé, who also worked at Doyle's case, was killed.

"You've gotta get out of there! Get back to America" Emily told her friend. "Cash transactions only. Do you understand me?" Emily said.

"It's him, isn't it?" Tsia asked.

"Toss that cellphone and get home safely" Emily said and hung up.

She could feel her heart pounding.

And all she could think about was her daughter.

She called Bella.

"Hi mom" the girl said happily.

"Hi baby, is everything okay?" Emily asked trying to sound normal.

"Yeah. It's fine" Bella said. She was watching a movie.

"Alright. Can I talk to Garcia really quick?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella said and gave the phone to the woman.

"Hey super mama" Penelope said.

"Hi. Umm.. It's just that if Bella wants to go out I'd like you to check with me first" Emily said.

"Okay of course" Penelope said.

"Alright then. I gotta go" Emily said and hung up.

Penelope smiled at Bella and handed her the phone back.

"What did she say?" Bella asked.

"Nothing much. It's just the case getting to her" Penelope smiled. She thought Emily was getting a little over protective because of the case. A 21 year-old girl was kidnapped. She thought it was that.

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Emily got to the BAU around 10pm on Sunday.

"Bellie fell asleep. Conference room" Penelope told her and she smiled and went there.

"Hey. I'm back" she said sitting next to the girl on the couch and pushing hair away from the tiny one's face. Bella opened her eyes. When she saw Emily, she sat up and wrapped her arms around her mom, who did the same.

"Let's go home?" Emily asked and Bella said yes, sounding very sleepy.

.

They walked inside the apartment and Emily asked if Bella wanted to sleep with her in her room.

"Yes" the girl smiled and they went upstairs. They went to get ready for bed and while Bella did that Emily went around the place locking everything up. Once done she went to her room to find Bella already there. Emily locked her bedroom door, turned the light off and laid next to the girl who was almost asleep and didn't even notice what her mother had done.

"Goodnight" Emily said getting closer to Bella. The girl hid her face on her mother's chest and they were both soon asleep.

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 **(Monday)**

Emily woke up with a call from Tsia.

"We need to meet" the woman said.

"7:30. Park. You know where" Emily said and hung up.

Emily dropped Bella off at Hilary's house saying she had a case and went. She parked her car and walked to the park. Isabella's park.

She walked around and saw Tsia who signed to a bench, so she walked to the bench. The place was crowed but no one was sitting there. She saw a newspaper and lifted it up. She picked up the phone from the bench as it started to vibrate, and answered the call.

"I thought you weren't coming" Tsia said.

"I had to leave her somewhere" Emily said about Bella.

"Does she know about this?" Tsia asked.

"No" Emily said.

"Hello darling" Clyde said. He also used to work with them.

"Let's make this quick I have to go to work" Emily said.

"Sure" Tsia said.

"What's being done to locate him?" Emily asked.

"The agencies are looking for him" Clyde said.

"What are YOU doing to find him?" Emily asked.

"We're working on this Emily. We found out he left France the day after the murder. He took a train to Berlin but when they intercepted it he was already gone" Clyde said.

"I think he's coming here" Emily said.

"Why is he doing this?" Tsia asked.

"Why do you think? We put him away" Clyde said.

Suddenly Emily got a text. "BAU in 30! 911" by JJ. She stared at her phone.

Clyde saw it.

"You cannot involve them in this" Clyde told her.

"They could help" Emily said.

"WE don't even know where he is Emily" Tsia said.

"Leave it to CIA and I. And go be with your team" Clyde said.

"Clyde this isn't just about us. I have a child at home now." Emily said.

"We'll find him." Clyde said. "I will find him darling. Trust me" Clyde said.

"I don't trust anyone anymore" Emily said and threw the phone on the trash. Tsia and Clyde did the same and they left the park.

Emily headed to the BAU.

She got there and the team was waiting for her to start the briefing.

"I'm so sorry. I was stuck in traffic" she said walking inside the conference room.

"Let's get started" Hotch said.

Once they were done they went to get their bags.

Then Emily went to talk to Garcia.

"Hey" Emily said walking inside Penelope's office. "I was wondering if you could pick Bella up at school from now on when I'm not here. I've heard some not so good things about the bus she's on and I don't want her to get bullied again." Emily lied.

"Oh of course" Penelope said.

"And if she asks to go out remember to call me first, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay super mom" Garcia smiled.

"Alright." Emily smiled back.

"Okay. Bye bye" Garcia said.

"Bye." Emily said and went out.

A while later they headed to Mississippi.

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They next day, Tuesday, around 2pm Emily got a call from Clyde. He said they had found Doyle and he was headed to DC.

Emily's heart sank.

"Are we sure it's him?" Emily asked.

"It is." Clyde said.

"Oh God." Emily said.

"Let that bastard come to us" Clyde said and hung up.

Emily took a deep breath in order to try to calm down. Suddenly a little girl walked by with her father and all Emily could think was Bella.

She called Garcia and asked her to pick Bella up early because the girl wasn't feeling so good.

Emily then texted Bella.

"Garcia is going to pick you up right now. Tell her your head hurts, pretend you're sick. I'll explain everything to you later. Love, mom"

Bella read the text and got a little scared about what could be going on. Emily wanted her to lie about being sick. She did not like that at all.

Penelope soon arrived at the school and she was very worried about the girl.

"Are you alright bunny?" She asked giving Bella a hug.

"Not really" Bella said looking a little sad. She was faking it.

"Let's get you to my beautiful couch so you can rest" Penelope said and they headed to the office.

A while later Emily texted Bella.

'Are you at the BAU?'

'Yes' Bella sent.

Emily breathed out relieved as she read it.

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Later that day they went back to DC.

Emily got to the BAU to find Bella asleep on Penelope's couch.

"Hey" she said waking the girl up. "Hi baby" she said giving Bella a hug and pulling her up.

"Why did you sleep so early?" Emily asked.

"I don't know" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"Well, I have something special prepared" Emily said.

"What is it?" Bella asked with a smile.

"Come on" Emily said and they went out. They said goodnight to the team and went to the car. Emily drove to The Jefferson Hotel.

"wow" Bella said as they walked in.

"you can wait for me in there if you want" Emily told the girl and Bella walked and sat on a couch while Emily went to the desk and checked in with fake passports.

"Why are we in a hotel?" Bella asked her as they walked inside the elevator.

"I thought we could use some really comfy pillows and a lot of room service" Emily said smiling.

"Cool" Bella said.

They went to the room and Bella loved it. The place was awesome and had a really cool view. Emily ordered room service while Bella showered. They ate while watching a movie.

Bella was getting really tired so she laid on the bed. Emily laid down too, wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her really tight. Way tighter than usual. Bella just knew something was wrong.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Bella said.

"Sure" Emily said letting go of the hug.

"What's going on?" Bella asked sitting up on the bed.

"Nothing is going on baby" Emily said.

"Mom I'm not dumb. You told me to fake being sick. I stopped riding the bus. Now we're in a hotel in the middle of the week for no reason and you're hugging me super tight. What the heck is going on?" Bella said.

"Nothing is going on Bella. The case was tough today and I didn't want Penelope to know I was having a hard time." Emily said and Bella just stared. "She's picking you up because she said she could and I don't really like you walking around alone. And I came here because I just needed a break. That's it" Emily said.

"Are you sure?" Bella asked.

"I am Bells. Don't worry" Emily said with a small smile and wrapped Bella in her arms as she felt her eyes sting as tears filled them. She lied to Bella because she didn't want the girl to be scared. She lied because she was scared and she couldn't let her daughter know that.

She pushed the tears away and laid down taking Bella with her. They stayed close together and Bella soon fell asleep.

Emily felt bad for lying to the girl but she knew it was the right thing. If Bella knew it would just make it worse. The kid would be terrified and probably wouldn't be able to hide from the team.

Emily had a hard time going to sleep but around 3am she finally ended up sleeping.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Bella woke up that morning and Emily was asleep. Bella checked the time and it was already a little over 8am. The alarm didn't go off.

"Mom! Mom!" The girl said waking Emily up. "I'm super late for school" Bella said.

"What?" Emily played clueless. The truth was that she had not set up the alarm.

"I'm late for school. Come on! It's over 8 already!" Bella said jumping out of the bed and running to her bag.

"Honey calm down" Emily said getting out of bed.

Bella looked through her bag and her school clothes weren't there. "my uniform" Bella said sitting on the ground.

"It's fine. Chloe can get your homework. It's okay to miss today" Emily said.

"Really?" Bella asked a bit surprised.

"Would you like to do that?" Emily asked and Bella shyly nodded yes.

"Alright then" Emily smiled. "Go change your clothes so we can go hang out at the office" she said and Bella went and did that.

 **.**

They walked inside the office and Morgan asked why Bella was there.

"We woke up late" Bella said and Emily smiled.

They sat on Emily's desk together and Emily started working on some papers while the girl played on her phone.

Suddenly Hotch walked in.

"Prentiss. There's something for you at the front desk" he said.

"I'll be right back" Emily told Bella and went there. She got a package. It didn't say who it was from but she just knew. She ran out of the building and looked around. Suddenly a car passed by slowly and the window rolled down.

Her heart seemed to have stopped when she saw his face.

It was him.


	70. Chapter 70: Only You

…

"Prentiss. There's something for you at the front desk" Hotch said.

"I'll be right back" Emily told Bella and went there. She got a package. It didn't say who it was from but she just knew. She ran out of the building and looked around. Suddenly a car passed and the window rolled down.

Her heart seemed to have stopped when she saw his face.

It was him.

It was Doyle and he wanted her to know he was there.

The car sprinted and right at that moment there was nothing she could do so she went back inside, got the package and went to the bathroom and opened it.

It was a flower and it had a paper clipped to it.

"Don't make this about anyone else or I'll kill them. It's you I want, only you Lauren"

Her hand was shaking.

She flushed the note and threw the flower on the trash and went back to work.

He said it was only her he wanted so she knew nothing would happen at the BAU.

 **.**

Later at night Penelope asked if Bella could have a sleep over with her at Derek's house. Emily was not very sure about it but she said yes. She felt like she could maybe try to find out more things about Doyle when Bella was with Penelope. And it was Derek's house so she knew that they would protect Bella.

Around 8:45, when Bella and Garcia went home with Morgan, Emily texted Clyde. 'Meet me at the S/M now'.

S meant subway. The M meant which one.

Clyde sent back a 'yes'.

So Emily went to the subway.

She had been feeling like someone was always watching her and in the subway was no different.

She walked inside and sat. She was very tensed and scared but she tried not to show it. She waited for a long time and suddenly Clyde appeared next to her.

"So.." He said.

Suddenly Tsia sat in front of her and both stared at Emily waiting for her to talk.

"Doyle's here in DC" Emily said.

"How can you be so sure?" Clyde asked.

"I saw him. Earlier today... In front of the BAU." She told them and they looked very surprised. "He left a package for me with a flower and a note telling me not to tell anyone. Not to tell the team or he'd kill them" Emily said.

"Is he playing games with you?" Tsia asked.

"No" Clyde said and Emily shook her head.

"He's meticulous. He plans everything to the last detail." Emily said.

"That last detail being you" Clyde said.

"Maybe you should tell your team" Tsia said.

"No. This isn't their fight. I won't get them on this, I can't take that risk" Emily said.

"If we stay together we can get him again" Tsia said.

"And look how that ended up" Emily said.

"Wait. When you went undercover I promised no one would harm you" Clyde said.

"I'm not undercover anymore" Emily said. "DC is my comfort zone. I'm not going to be waiting for him to come after me. Or even my child. This ends here." Emily said and walked out.

She called Morgan and went to his house. She needed her daughter that night.

.

"Join us Prentiss" Morgan said when he opened the door.

Suddenly Penelope and Bella appeared, they had matching batman onesies on.

"Oh my god" Emily smiled and walked in.

"They got me one too. Do you wanna wear it? It didn't fit me and it will look way better on you" Morgan said.

"Oh said the man too cool for batman onesies" Penelope said and they all laughed.

Emily followed them to the living room.

"Let's just watch this movie. We'll leave the onesies for some other time" she said.

They sat in the living room and watched the movie.

When it was done Penelope was passed out on the couch so they left her there and Emily and Bella went to the guest bedroom, And Morgan to his.

"Mom" Bella said as Emily tucked her in.

"Yes" Emily smiled and then laid next to the girl.

"I'm glad you came to watch the movie with us" Bella said.

Emily smiled and wrapped the girl in her arms.

"You know I love you very very much, right?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella said. She looked at Emily's eyes and said "and I love you too".

Emily kissed the girl's forehead and they snuggled till both fell asleep.

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 **(Thursday)**

That day the alarm didn't go off and it was by mistake. Everyone forgot to set it up and ended up sleeping till almost 8:30.

Penelope woke up and ran around the house saying they were late and waking everybody up.

"We're late again?" Bella asked Emily.

"Come on I'll call the school so they can send your homework through Chloe" Emily said as she saw Bella's not so happy face.

"Mom, are you sure this is okay?" the girl said.

"You'll catch up baby. Don't worry I'll help" Emily said.

They had a quick breakfast and headed to the BAU. In there, Emily called the school and then texted Hilary. She lied to the woman and said Bella was having a fever still so she thought it was best for her to not go.

"Conference room everyone" JJ said walking pass their desks.

"I'll be right back. Stay here" Emily told Bella and followed the team.

They learned about the case which were about a two men who were kidnapped right there in the city so Emily was happy she wouldn't need to go anywhere.

.

Bella spent the whole day reading and watching Doctor Who on her iPad while the team worked to solve the case.

Around lunch time, Isabella was sitting on Emily's desk while Emily was out with JJ when she noticed Reid sitting on his desk looking rather sad.

"Are you okay?" She asked the man.

"Yes i'm fine" Reid said pretending. Bella knew he was lying.

"Are you sad about Lauren too?" Bella asked him assuming the woman was his friend too.

"Lauren?" He asked her a bit confused.

"Lauren Reynolds" Bella said.

"Who's Lauren Reynolds?" Spencer asked.

"My mom's friend. I thought she was yours too" Bella said.

"No. I don't know any Lauren Reynolds" Reid said. "But why would I be sad? What happened to her?" he asked.

"My mom said she died" Bella said and Reid made a "sorry" face.

"so if you didn't know her then what's bothering you?" Bella asked.

"It's just a bad headache" He said.

"sorry for bothering you then" bella said a little embarrassed.

"Oh no. You never bother me" Reid said with a small smile. Bella smiled back and went back to reading her book.

.

Emily had to go to the men's house with JJ . When they were going back to the BAU, Emily told JJ she would stop at her house really quick to get some things.

So Emily went up and got Isabella's uniform. She just knew everyone would get suspicious if the girl kept missing school. She went back to the car with a bag of clothes for Bella.

"What's that for Em?" JJ asked.

"It's for Bella. Just some clothes and her uniform" Emily said.

"But you'll be home in a few hours" JJ said.

"It's just in case she needs to stay with Garcia." Emily lied.

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They finished the job around 11 at night.

Emily and Morgan walked to their desks together.

"Look at that" Derek said as he saw Bella was asleep sitting on Emily's chair.

Emily smiled and went to wake the girl.

"Oh no. Don't wake her up. I'll take her to the car" Derek said and picked Bella up. The girl opened her eyes.

"It's alright. We're going home" Emily told her. She got her bag and Isabella's bag and went to the car.

She drove around the city for a while paying attention if she was being followed. Then she drove to another hotel, the Four Seasons and carried Bella inside. Again using fake passports, she faked being from Italy and not being able to speak English and checked-in. She carried Bella to their room and put the girl on the bed. She looked around the place checking if everything was fine and then went to shower, keeping the bathroom door open. Once done she put her clothes on and laid next to Bella.

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 **(Friday)**

"Hey baby wake up" Emily said trying to wake Isabella up. "Come on honey" she said and Bella opened her eyes. "Hi. Good morning sleeping beauty" Emily said and Bella smiled opened her eyes all the way.

Suddenly she saw where she was and she didn't recognize the room.

Emily saw the girl looked confused.

"I was gonna take you to their restaurant last night but you fell asleep so I brought you up." She said smiling. "Come on, go get ready for school" Emily said.

"I don't have my uniform" Bella said.

"Yeah you do. I stopped by the house to get it just in case" Emily said.

Bella looked a little sad.

"What is it? You don't wanna go now?" Emily asked.

"Do I really have to?" Bella asked sad.

"Yes. Today you have to go" Emily said. "Please go get ready" Emily said and Bella did that.

When Emily parked the car in front of the school Bella asked "are you sure I have to go?"

"Yes I am" Emily said.

The girl wasn't happy about it but she went.

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The team was briefing about a case right there in DC, when Emily walked in late.

"I'm so sorry" Emily said.

"Are you okay?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah. It's just one of those day I guess." she said sitting down. "What did I miss?" She asked and they filled her in. It wasn't long after that, that they headed to the crime scenes.

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Later, Emily picked Bella up at school and took her to the BAU.

They were greeted by Penelope.

"How was your day bunny?" Penelope asked.

"Good" Bella smiled. "Mom, Chloe invited me to go to the movies tonight. Can I go?" Bella asked.

"No" Emily said.

"Why not?" Bella asked.

"Because I said no. So go do your homework right now" Emily said really serious and Bella walked to Emily's desk looking a bit upset.

"What was that?" Garcia asked.

"Nothing" Emily said.

"Come on she just wants to go to the movies" Penelope said.

"She's my daughter, not yours" Emily said and walked away.

Garcia tried to hide how hurt she was.

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Later that day, all they had on the case was that the people who died were born in Europe. Penelope and Reid were trying to find a connection and Reid found a common number they used to call. When they checked who it was from it was from a man born in England. So Hotch sent Morgan and Emily there. When they got there the house seemed empty. Out of nowhere a few men walked out and started shooting. Morgan and Emily shot back. One man died but the rest managed to run away and little did Emily know that Doyle was one of them. Morgan called Hotch to let him know what happened and sometime after He was there with Rossi. They found the man had a tattoo which he was shot right at. Then they went inside the house and found the British man was dead. After they examined everything Rossi realized that whatever those victims did or were involved at, was not in US sole.

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They spent the night at the office working so Isabella slept at Hotch's office.

The next day, Saturday, Penelope figured something about the victims working for the same company 7 years ago and Reid figured out what the tattoo was.

It was a 4 leaf clover.

And when Emily saw she couldn't be more sure.

It was him.

It was Doyle.

She went to the bathroom and called Tsia right away.

"Hey" Tsia said.

"You need to leave. Right now" Emily said and suddenly Garcia and JJ walked inside. She tried not to panic and hung up the call.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked worried.

"Yeah I'm good" Emily said.

"I'm not a profiler but you are-" Penelope started but Emily cut her off.

"Don't" Emily said. When she saw Penelope's face changing she felt really bad. "I'm sorry" Emily said.

"Okay" Garcia said.

"Is it something with Bella? She's so quiet" JJ asked.

"No. She's okay. It's just..." Emily said. "I'm gonna be alright"

"Emily" JJ said.

"It's just... I'm not sleeping." Emily said. "I'm having this nightmare. There's a hill and there's a little girl on the top... She's like 6 years old, dark hair... And she's just dancing there. And somehow I know that she's waiting for me so I start to walk up the hill but the hill gets steeper and steeper and by the time I climb to the top… The little girl is gone" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears. She wasn't lying. She did have that nightmare multiple times, but it happened a few years before.

"And I look everywhere for her and when I can't find her I start to panic... And I panic because I know what's waiting out there for her. I know what the world can do to a girl who only sees beauty in it." She said. "Like you" she told Penelope, who had tears in her eyes.

"Somehow you always make me smile. And you're absolutely amazing with my daughter... I don't think I've ever thanked you for that" Emily said with a small smile.

Suddenly Hotch opened the door.

"Prentiss" he said and they all walked outside. Penelope and JJ still in shock about what had just happened.

Emily followed Hotch, JJ went to get coffee and Garcia went to check on Bella.

"Hey" she said as she saw the girl reading a book on Emily's desk.

"Hi" Bella said lifting her head and smiling at Penelope.

"You know I love you right?" Penelope asked standing right beside the chair.

Bella smiled looking at her. "Yes" the girl said and Garcia hugged her.

"You know I'll always be here" Garcia said.

"I know Penny" Bella said.

"Alright. Just making sure" she said and Bella laughed.

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Hotch, Prentiss and Morgan went to talk to the owners of the company the victims used to work for. Morgan and Hotch explained the profile and mentioned the tattoo while Emily just sat there and listened. When they showed the tattoo the men knew it was Doyle. They told them about an operation to capture IRA leader, Ian Doyle, and Hotch went and told Penelope to put his name on everyone's list.

"So he's killing the people he knew?" JJ asked.

"Yes" Morgan said.

"And how exactly do we know who's next?" Garcia asked. Emily took a deep breath to push away her fears. She knew she was on that list.

"We study his life" Derek said.

"Was Doyle on your radar when you were at Interpol?" Hotch asked Emily. They knew she worked for Interpol but they did not know exactly what she did. They believed she had a desk job and lots of contacts.

"Sure. I had heard of him, but direct contact I'd have to ask around" Emily lied.

"Do" Hotch said and she texted Clyde and went to her desk. A while later he called her. She managed to ask him to send something on Doyle. Morgan who was on his desk across hers saw something was up with the woman. He knew she was hiding something.

"Are you alright?" Morgan asked.

"Yes" she said serious and a bit rude.

He looked surprised with the attitude.

"You know Em, you really need to trust people." He said.

"I trust people" Emily said.

"No you don't" he said. "You don't because you can't. And I get it. Every time you tried to count on someone they've let you down so you go it alone. And you'll never admit that because you're just too damn stubborn. Where do you think your daughter gets that from?" He said. "It's alright. It doesn't matter. But I'll tell you what does matter. That you can trust me Emily... with anything. I'm serious, no matter how awful you think it is, I promise you're not alone" he said. "Just wished you'd believe that"

"I do" Emily said. She felt bad for hiding but she couldn't tell him the truth.

They went to the crime scene and then headed back to the BAU. Emily went to her desk wrote a letter to Hotch. She put inside an envelope, wrote Hotch on the back and put it inside a drawer on her desk.

Later at night Emily got a document from Tsia and she gave it to the team, then she went to Penelope's office.

"Hey" she said to Bella and the girl sat up on the couch smiling. Emily sat next to her and threw one arm around the girl. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Watching a show" Bella said showing it on her iPad.

"Cool" Emily said. Bella got comfortable on her mother's arms and pressed play.

About 20 minutes later Emily went back to the conference room to see what the team already had. She was terrified of them finding out she worked undercover on Doyle's case.

She had to work really hard to keep her composure.

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 **(Sunday)**

Isabella woke up and the BAU was full of people. She went to the conference room.

"What's going on here?" She asked. Everyone was there but Derek.

"We are super busy today honey. You're gonna have to stay in Garcia's office, alright?" Emily told her.

"Sure" Bella said not looking very happy and headed back to Penelope's office.

"I'll be there in a minute" Emily said.

Suddenly Morgan walked in.

"Double homicide. They want us to take a look" he said.

"Is it Doyle?" Hotch asked.

"Very likely" Morgan said.

Emily tried to stay calm she thought she knew who it could be.

"I'm coming with you" Emily said and they went.

When she walked in the apartment and saw who it was she felt sick and like she was about to cry.

It was Tsia.

She pushed the tears away and just stared at her friend.

"She might be on the list. We should run her prints" Morgan said.

"I need some air" Emily said and walked away. She went outside and ended up throwing up. Morgan knew something was wrong and followed her there.

"Do you need a soda? What can I do?" He asked.

"Can we stop by my place 'cause I think I got it on my pants" Emily said. "I'll be really quick I promise"

"Okay" Derek said and they went.

Derek waited in the car and Emily went up. She changed her pants and her boots. Then she went to Isabella's bedroom, got a small bag and put the girl's blanket inside of it.

She headed back to the car.

"What's that?" Morgan asked about the bag.

"It's just a few things for Bella. She doesn't have much to do" she lied.

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When Emily and Derek got back to the bureau, Hotch had already gathered all the agents and cops and was talking about the case.

There were so many people in there.

Emily payed attention to what Hotch was saying and more and more she started to see that she had to end it. She was the one he wanted. She knew Doyle would kill whoever crossed his path and she couldn't let any of those people get hurt because of her.

Emily was trying so hard to keep the tears in.

She looked around the room, she looked at her team and she thought about her daughter. She knew Bella had them. She believed she could take Doyle but she knew that if something happened to her, her baby would be safe.

So she quietly walked out of the room.

She took a peek at Penelope's office and Isabella was fast asleep on the couch. So Emily walked in. She took the blanket out of the bag and out it next to the girl.

She sat next to her and pushed hair away from the child's face and placed a kiss on her head. Her eyes were full of tears.

Suddenly Bella woke up.

Emily pushed the tears away and smiled.

"Hi" Bella whispered very sleepy.

"Go back to sleep baby. I just came to check on you" Emily said pulling the throw a little bit higher.

"I love you, goodnight" Emily said putting the blanket on the girl's hand, and kissed Bella again.

"Goodnight mommy" Bella said very sleepy taking the blanket to her face, closing her eyes again and drifting back to sleep.

Emily smiled as a tear fell as she watched the girl.

Emily walked out of the office and headed to the parking lot.

She had to end this before anyone else got hurt.


	71. Chapter 71: Doyle vs

…

"Goodnight mommy" Bella said very sleep and closet her eyes again and drifted back to sleep.

Emily walked out of the office and headed to the parking lot.

She had to end this before anyone else got hurt.

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Emily walked outside the bureau, checked her car, got inside of it and started driving.

Doyle wanted Lauren.

And she knew where she'd find him. She just knew.

"The Black Shamrock".

The place they first met.

 **.**

Emily drove to Boston and parked the car close to the pub.

After a long time waiting, some men came out. A few got inside a car and left. Doyle went to another car with two other men.

Emily felt her heart racing as she reached for her gun.

She had to end this.

She got out of the car and started shooting at them.

One ran, the other fell on the floor as the bullet entered his leg.

"I only want Doyle. Where's Doyle?" Emily said.

"I'm right here Love" Doyle said from behind.

Emily turned around and he shot twice. She fell on the ground.

"Right here" Doyle said and walked to her.

He lifted her shirt and saw the bullet proof vest.

"Hello Love" he said as she looked at him.

He got a syringe and stuck it on her neck.

She passed out. Doyle got his phone and called the other men back. They put her inside the car, locked the door and left.

"Get me the girl" Doyle said.

"We have Lauren. She's the one who matters" an older man, Liam, said.

"I want the girl" Doyle said serious.

They stopped the car and Liam got out with two others.

 **.**

Emily woke up and her head was hurting very badly. She looked around the room and saw she was in a warehouse. She was tied up on a chair. There was a desk in front of her, and a mattress in the corner of the room.

Suddenly Doyle walked in.

He placed his hand behind her neck.

"You'll have a visitor soon" Doyle said.

"What do you want from me?" Emily asked.

"You'll see" he said. "Don't worry love" he added and walked out.

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"There are 4 names on the bottom of the list Prentiss gave us" Morgan said. "Luke Renaul, Lawrence Riley, Lilla Raffertly and Lyle Rogers"

"All with initials LR" JJ said.

"The CIA uses cryptograms like that to assigned undercover agents working on the same case" Hotch said.

"So do other foreign countries" Rossi said.

"These last 4 names are covers, spies.." Derek said showing the paper.

Suddenly Penelope realized.

"Wait" she said and grabbed the paper. "This isn't right. See this space. That shouldn't be here" she said.

"Couldn't it be a formatting error?" Reid asked.

"No this is a spread sheet template. The formatting doesn't allow for this. There's a missing name on here" Garcia said.

"There's another spy whose cover is LR" Hotch said.

"Lauren Reynolds" Reid said.

"What?" Hotch asked.

"Lauren Reynolds is dead. Isabella told me Emily had a friend called Lauren Reynolds who died." Reid said.

Hotch walked to her desk and opened a drawer. Her badge, her gun and other personal things were there.

"Guys" Hotch said showing it all to the team.

"If Prentiss is the last name, she's on Doyle's list too" JJ said.

"She left her badge and gun? Why would she do that?" Morgan asked.

"That doesn't make any sense. Why run? We are her family we can help" Reid said.

"But Doyle is killing families" Rossi said. "She ran to protect us" he added.

"Where's Bella?" JJ asked suddenly remembering the girl.

"She is sleeping in my office" Penelope said and everyone just ran there.

.

"She's not here" Morgan said as soon he stepped inside.

"Why would they run? Why wouldn't Emily trust us?" Reid said.

"Oh Lord" Garcia said as she saw Isabella's blanket on the couch.

"What is it Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"She didn't have this. She left it at home" Garcia said grabbing the blanket.

"Is that hers too?" Rossi asked pointing to the bag on the floor.

"Yes" Penelope said.

"Emily brought that. She said Bella didn't have much to do so she had packed a few things" Derek said.

"She packed this" Garcia said. "Believe me she didn't have this with her" she added.

"If Emily gave that to Bella why would she leave it behind?" Reid asked.

"She wouldn't" Derek and Penelope said in unison.

Penelope's eyes were full of tears.

"You think somebody..?" JJ said but Hotch cut her off.

"Get the security footage" Hotch said.

Penelope ran to her desk trying hard to keep the tears in.

She pulled the images from when Emily went to see Bella and gave her the blanket.

"She was saying goodbye" Rossi said as they watched the woman leave with tears streaming down her face.

Then Garcia fast forward and everyone's heart seemed to have stopped when they watched an agent sedating the girl and taking her out.

"We need to find Agent Seamons" Hotch said and walked out.

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 _ ****** Earlier that day...**_

 **.**

 **.**

Agent Seamons, a 28 year-old man that worked for at the BAU for a little over a year, was working when he got a call.

"Meet me close to the green Santa Fe. Do not tell anybody or your family dies" a man said on the phone.

The agent grabbed his gun and went out to the parking lot. There was a man waiting for him right there.

"You're going to do something for me or they'll die" the man, Liam, said opening the door of a black van revealing a woman and a little boy inside. It was Agent Seamons's wife and son. The man quickly closed the door again.

"What do you want?" The agent said.

"Emily Prentiss's daughter" Liam said. "Bring her to me and nothing will happen to them" he said. "You have 15 minutes" the man added and handed a syringe to the agent.

Seamons's eyes were widened. He couldn't believe that was happening.

He walked inside and so many thoughts went through his mind. He knew the man outside was not playing. He knew he had to save his family no matter what.

So he went to Penelope Garcia's office and saw the child asleep on the couch. He went and checked to see where everybody was and since they were in the conference room he rushed to get the girl. He walked inside the office and sat on the couch next to the child. He lifted the sleeve of her shirt and started giving the injection. Isabella moved a little as she felt it sting. She opened her eyes slightly but before she could do anything the medicine had sedated her.

So agent Seamons picked the girl up and headed out.

As he was about to walk outside the building an agent stopped him.

"Where are you taking her?" The woman asked.

"Prentiss asked me to take her home" he lied trying to look normal.

"Poor thing. She is out" the woman said pushing hair away from the girl's face.

"Yeah" Seamons said and walked outside.

He went to the parking lot and the van was there waiting.

The man walked to him and simply ripped the child out of his arms.

"Wait! Where are they?" Seamons asked.

Suddenly the man grabbed his gun and shot him twice.

The agent fell to the ground. He was dead.

The man put Isabella inside the van and the driver sprinted.

Agent Seamons's family was dropped a couple blocks away.

Also murdered.

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 _ ****** Back at present time...**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

Hotch ran inside the conference room where everyone was anxiously waiting for news.

"He's dead" Hotch said.

"What?" Derek asked.

"Agent Seamons, his wife and his son" Hotch said.

"They had his family" JJ said.

"Another agent saw him with Bella and he told her Emily asked him to take the girl home" Hotch said. "She said he looked nervous and barely payed attention to her" he added.

"He just handed her to them?" Garcia asked crying.

Morgan hugged her.

"We'll find them" Morgan said.

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"Wow, she is like a little version of Lauren" Doyle said as Liam handed him the child.

"Her name is not Lauren. It's Emily" Liam said.

Doyle ripped the girl out of his arms and took her inside to where Emily was.

"Your visitor has arrived" he said walking in.

Emily couldn't see who it was at first but when Doyle walked pass her she just knew.

"Lovely girl, isn't she?" He said putting Isabella down on the mattress in the corner of the room and tying her up.

"Ian, she has nothing to do with this" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears. "She's a child. She didn't do anything to you" she said.

"Oh don't worry love. I won't kill this one." Doyle said pushing hair away from the child's face and then standing up. "But I need her to know who her mother really is. What her mother did." He said.

Emily swallowed hard. She was trying hard not to cry.

"And then I'll kill you." The man said. "You never gave a crap about her. You left her. Do you think she loves you? She doesn't even know who you are" Doyle said and walked out. Doyle didn't know Emily went to visit Bella. All he knew was that she lied to everyone about having a child and when the girl's father died she took her in.

Emily sat there and just stared at her daughter.

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Penelope started sobbing as Derek hugged her.

She couldn't believe they had taken the little girl.

"How will we find Prentiss?" Morgan asked.

"Here's how: Ian Doyle is our unsub, Prentiss our victim. We profile their behavior, we treat it like any other case" Hotch said.

"I'll see if any of my contacts has anything on Lauren Reynolds" JJ said and walked out.

"Bellie will be okay, right? She'll be okay?" Penelope asked Morgan.

Derek just hugged her unsure of what to say.

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Isabella started to move a little on the mattress.

Emily could feel her heart racing. She knew the girl would panic.

"Bella. It's okay. It's gonna be okay" she said and suddenly Doyle walked in.

"Stop lying to her Emily" Doyle said keening down close to the child.

Isabella's eyes opened and she blinked a little, trying to fight through the last bit of sedation on her tiny body.

She opened her eyes and found Doyle staring at her very close to her face. Her eyes widened immediately as fear took over.

"Oh don't worry dear. I'm not going to kill you" Ian said and Bella just stared at him as her eyes filled with tears. "We'll just talk for now" he said and stood up revealing Emily tied up on the chair.

"Mom?" Bella said as tears started streaming down her face.

Doyle simply walked out leaving Emily and her daughter alone.

"What's going on? Who are they?" Bella asked as she looked around the room.

"Baby look at me" Emily said but nothing. The girl was starting to panic. "Bella. Bella! Look at me" Emily said and the girl stared at her. "I am so sorry this is happening. But don't worry you're gonna be okay. Alright? You're gonna be fine" Emily said.

"I'm scared" the girl cried.

"I know baby. I know. But look, it's gonna be okay" Emily said.

Suddenly Doyle walked back in.

"What have I said about lies, Emily?" Doyle said as he walked in. Bella moved to the corner. She was terrified.

"Leave her alone. She has nothing to do with this" Emily said.

"Oh but you do." Doyle said pushing some sort of table inside.

"Do you know Isabella that your mother has two tattoos?" Doyle asked the girl who just stayed quiet.

He walked to Emily, who was trying hard not to look scared.

"I'm gonna give you one you'll never forget" Doyle said unbuttoning Emily's shirt showing her breasts.

"I think I have enough ink" Emily said trying to look tough.

"Who said anything about ink? In Korea they don't have that. They brand themselves" Doyle said. He pushed her head back. "The more you fight, the more this will hurt" he said and started branding a four leaf clover on her left breast.

Isabella covered her ears as her mother's screams filled the room.

Emily could help it. It was hurting too much.

When Doyle finished with her he moved closer to Bella.

"No. Please. No. Don't hurt me" the little girl cried as he got closer and closer.

"Ian don't" Emily begged.

But it was in vain.

Doyle kneed down and made Bella turn around. The girl couldn't control her body quite right yet because of the medicine. So she just laid there.

Ian lifted the child's shirt revealing her pale lower back.

"Don't worry child, physical pain goes away" he said and started doing the same clover on Bella.

The girl screamed like never before.

Emily's heart sank at that sound. She was powerless.

Doyle finished it and left the room, leaving Bella moaning on the mattress.

"Bella. Bell. Bells" Emily said trying hard not to cry.

The girl moved a little and looked at her.

The look on the child's face made Emily want to put a bullet through Doyle's head at that exact moment.

"It will go away. It will stop hurting. I promise. Just hang in there" Emily said.

"Mommy. He's gonna kill us" the girl cried.

"I already said I won't kill you, didn't I?" Doyle said walking in again.

"You in the other hand" he said staring at Emily.

"So what do you want?" Emily asked angry.

"You to tell her the truth" Doyle said.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Does she know about your work back then? Does she knows what you used to do with me while she was home asking for her mommy?" Doyle said getting close to Emily's face.

Bella's eyes were widened.

The man looked at her and said "I see she doesn't".

There was another man at the door. The old man that got Bella, Liam.

"Take her to the other room" Doyle told him and he walked in to get the girl.

Bella sat and went to the corner, as the man held her arm to unchain her she started fighting him off.

Doyle got close to her and said "the machine is still on. We can do another one if you'd like".

The girl stopped fighting and Liam picked her up.

As he walked passed Emily, Bella couldn't stand. She just wanted her mom.

"Mom!" She cried and tried to touch Emily. "Mommy!" The girl screamed fighting to get to her.

"Stop it" Liam said and pressed her lower back where the branding was. The girl screamed in pain and stopped fighting as he took her out.

Doyle followed them to the other room. Liam put Isabella down on the floor. The girl hugged her legs and tried hard to stop crying.

"I don't wanna hear one sound from you. Or you'll never EVER see her again. Do you hear me?" Doyle said close to her face as he chained her again.

The little girl nodded yes rapidly.

"Good girl" he said and walked out. Liam followed him.

"You just watch her. Nothing more" Doyle said and Liam went back inside the room and sat on a chair. He took his gun out and pointed at Bella.

"If you try to run, this goes straight on you head" he said and the little girl just hugged her legs scared.

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Sometime later JJ got back with news.

"I talked to a friend from Langley. He couldn't give me Emily's full CIA history but he could give me this" she said and a paper appeared on the screen. "She assumed the identity of Lauren Reynolds is part of a task force called JTF-12. They were profiling terrorists." JJ said.

"How does Doyle fit in?" Reid said.

"He was their last case" JJ said. "And now the JTF is on his hit list" she added. "Jeremy Wolff was the first victim from Germany, Sean McCallister from Interpol was the second, he was murder in Brussels with his wife and daughter. Tsia Mosely from a French agency died here in dc. And team leader Clyde Easter, British SIS, he hasn't check in since Tsia's murder, he was also in DC" JJ explained as their pictures appeared on the screen.

"Did JTF make the arrests?" Hotch asked.

"No. The host countries handle that and the team moves to the next case" JJ said.

"If all they did was deliver a profile how does Doyle even know about them?" Morgan asked.

"Terrorist cells infiltrate" JJ said.

"Who was undercover on Doyle?" Reid asked.

"Emily. She made contact with him in Boston posing as another weapon's dealer." JJ said as pictures appeared.

"Look at how she's dressed. She seems awfully comfortable" Rossi said.

"How close did she get to Doyle as part of her cover?" Hotch asked.

"The team went through his romantic relationships. Emily, was his type" JJ said.

"That's the real reason she left Bella with John. She was doing undercover work." Hotch said now realizing.

Everyone else just stared.

Suddenly an agent walked in.

"A shooting at an Irish pub in Boston. It's Prentiss" the agent said and they went to see.

"Emily walked into a trap. From this angle it seems like Doyle got inside the car but he didn't." Garcia said as the video played.

They saw Emily getting shot and Doyle sedating her and putting her inside the SUV.

"When do Bella come in this?" Garcia asked.

"This happened around the time Seamons took her out." Hotch said.

Another agent walked in.

"Boston PD has got Easter and a man from the shooting" he said.

"I'll go talk to Easter. Rossi you get the other man, the rest of you focus on Doyle's location" Hotch said.

"I hate to ask this but how long do they have?" Garcia asked.

"Her best chance is also the most troubling. Doyle saved her for last because he views her as his stressor." Hotch said, "Which means he'll take his time" he added.

Penelope nodded as tears filled her eyes again.

The team got their go bags and got on a plane to Boston.

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"Do you know who I am?" The man asked.

"No," Isabella replied, moving her eyes to meet his.

His lips curved into a smile.

"Do you know who Lauren Reynolds is?" he asked coming closer to her.

"My mom said she died" Bella said clearly scared.

"Oh she did?" Doyle said laughing. "Well love, your mom is a liar" he said. "She is Lauren Reynolds" he added, laughed and walked out of the room.

Isabella sat there confused.

A while later he walked back in again.

Isabella tried to back herself as far into the wall as possible. She noticed that he was carrying a bottle of water in his hand. When he got to her he crouched down in front of her. He smiled at her, in a way that made her shiver with fear.

"Thirsty?" He asked and the girl shook her head no.

"Smart girl. But I haven't poisoned it, if that's what you're worried about." He said.

Isabella swallowed back her fear, in order for her to say something.

"I'll have a sip first." He opened the bottle and took a sip, then handed it to Bella.

She moved her arm forward and had a sip

"Good girl" Doyle said and handed the bottle to Liam. "Leave us" he said.

He moved closer to the girl.

When Bella saw what he had in his hand she tried to move herself away.

"Please no" the girl cried.

Doyle kneed down next to her. "This is not for you love. It's for you mother" he said and pulled her shirt up revealing her lower back again.

Isabella cried out in pain, as the Taser made contact with her skin. She screamed as she convulsed on the floor.

"Tell her how it hurts" Doyle said moving to her upper back.

"Stop!" The girl screamed in pain.

"Go on call for mommy" Doyle said as he did it again.

"No! Please stop. Please Ian. Don't hurt me" the little girl begged but he did it again and she cried in pain.

"I promise I'll stop, just call for her. Let her know how much it hurts. Let her know it's her fault" he said going for her lower back again.

She didn't notice he was about to do it till he did it.

"Mommy!" She cried. "Mommy! Please stoooop!" She screamed.

True to his word, Doyle stopped and left the room as the girl cried on the floor.

Doyle walked to where Emily was.

He found the woman with her head down.

"I see you heard" Doyle said.

"What did you do?" Emily said angry with tears in her eyes.

"Oh you'll see it soon" he said and walked out.

He checked on Isabella who was still crying in the other room and then went back to where Emily was. He walked in and sat on the chair in front of her.

"Why are you doing this?" Emily asked. "Why are you keeping me alive?"

Suddenly Liam walked in. "FBI grabbed Fahey. Her people. It won't be long till he says something and they come" he said. He handed out a gun to Doyle and said "do what you have to so we can get the hell out of here"

Doyle stood up and Emily tried not to panic.

"I know what you want" she said and he looked at her.

"Do you really?" He asked.

"You want Lauren Reynolds back." She said clearly scared. "I can do that. I can be her"

"You think that will save your skin?" He asked.

"I have no illusions" she shook her head. "But I'm tired of this. Of being afraid" she said.

"We don't have time for this" Liam said.

"We'll make time" Doyle said.

"What about Fahey?" Liam asked.

"I'll take care of Fahey." Doyle said. "He smokes right?" He asked and the man nodded, so Doyle smiled.

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"October, I've never worked with a finer agent than Emily Prentiss. Her skills are unparalleled" Hotch read from a file. "You sold her to us the same way you sold Doyle to the North Koreans"

"Just because you know how I profile, doesn't mean you know me" Clyde said.

"We'll get Doyle with or without you" Hotch said and walked out.

.

In the other room Rossi was talking to Fahey.

"Where is him?" Rossi asked serious.

"Anybody got a smoke?" Fahey asked.

"Where's Prentiss?" Rossi asked really angry now.

"I don't know. I don't know." The skinny man said.

"Lauren Reynolds. Where is she?" Rossi said.

"Oh" Fahey said realizing what was going on.

"You tell me where she is right now or I swear I'll .." Rossi said.

"By the time you do anything she'll be in pieces. So ummm my price just went up." Fahey said smiling.

Rossi simply walked out and went to talk to Hotch. He explained what happened while they stared at the man through the glass.

"Is he an addict?" Derek asked as he noticed Fahey's leg.

"He's having a nicotine fit" Rossi said. "We wouldn't let him smoke"

"We could use that. He could relax. Open his big mouth" Derek said.

"We can try" Hotch said. "You take him Rossi" Hotch added and Rossi went.

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Doyle walked where Isabella was and the girl tried to move away from him.

"Don't worry child. Let's go see your mama" he said unchaining her and helping her up.

Isabella cried in pain as he lifted her. All her back was stinging badly.

Doyle took the girl to where Emily was and laid her on the mattress.

"You're going to want to see this" he told Bella as he chained her. Isabella was fighting thru the pain. Her back was stinging badly as her shirt touched the spots where the taser went.

Emily just stared at the girl who was clearly in a lot of pain. Bella was pale and her eyes were red from crying.

"What is that you do... Lauren?" Doyle asked sitting on the chair in front of Emily, recreating when they first met.

"I'm looking to get into business with a former IRA captain. He's gone freelance. Valhalla" Emily said trying to ignore the fact her daughter was watching it all. She felt disgusting but she had to.

"but since this is sensitive… il pourrait etre preferable d'en discuter en prive (it might be better to discuss this in private)" she said.

"Vous eses justes plein de surprises, ne coutent pas vous? (you're full of surprises, ren't you?) " Doyle smiled and Emily smiled back. Isabella stared at them thru a shed of tears.

"destachez –moi (untie me)" Emily said.

"That's not how it went" Doyle said.

"Je ne peux pas vous faire plaisir avec des menottes (I can't make you happy in handcuffs)" Emily said as Doyle walked.

He stood behind her. He squeezed her neck "do you really think I'd let you fool me twice?" He said.

"I just wanted-" Emily started.

"I know what you wanted. A way into my head. But I changed the locks so you're gonna suffer the way that I suffered. This won't be the first time you've killed an innocent but will be the last time you have to watch" Doyle said.

Isabella's widened.

All Emily could think was: he's going to kill her. He's going to kill Bella.

But he had other plans.

"LIAM" Doyle called for the man, who got in with another laptop.

"There" Doyle said putting the laptop on the table, showing Fahey and Rossi on the screen.

Emily's eyes widened as she saw Rossi's back on the screen.

"You got him?" Liam asked on speaker phone.

"Yes, but which one is the target?" A man on the phone said.

"No! This was about you and me! That's what you said. You and me!" Emily said desperately, Isabella just stayed in the corner crying.

"Then why is your team here?" Doyle asked. "Cause I didn't leave a trail?" Doyle said standing right behind Emily's chair.

"Ian. Whatever you wanna do to me, I accept. But leave them out of it" Emily said almost crying.

"Yes, except I didn't bring them in, did I?" Doyle said.

Isabella stared at her mother who was crying staring at the screen. She had never seen Emily so vulnerable.

"What are you thinking?" Doyle asked Liam.

"First the guard, then the fbi fella, then Fahey if he has a shot" Liam said.

"Yeah" Doyle said. "Sounds about right"

"Shoot Fahey" Emily said serious. "If he dies my team doesn't have anything."

Doyle smiled.

"Hello Lauren" Doyle said smiling. "Good to see you again"

Suddenly a gunshot filled the room.

The man had shot Fahey.

"Is he dead?" Doyle asked.

"Yes sir" the man on the phone said.

Doyle turned to Bella and said "Did you see it girl?"

Isabella just stared scared as tears streamed down her face.

"She did it. She killed him." Doyle said holding Emily's neck. "Your precious mommy killed him" he said walking over to the girl.

He kneed down in front of her as Isabella tried to move away.

"This is what she does. She's not who you think she is, love" he said and the girl looked away. "Take her out" Doyle told Liam and stood up.

Liam approached to get her and she started to fight him off. Doyle went down and grabbed her arm.

"Do you want another tattoo? Or me to kill her right now? Cause I will" Doyle said squeezing her arm and Isabella stopped. "Good girl" he said smiling as Liam took the girl out to the other room.

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"Fahey is dead" Rossi said walking back in.

"What?" Hotch asked.

"He was shot" Rossi said and walked to clean himself up.

"Hey baby girl." Derek said as he noticed Penelope's worried face.

"Hi." Garcia replied with a weak smile.

"How are you doing?" Morgan replied and Penelope simply shook her head and started crying again.

"We'll find them" JJ told her.

"I just can't stop thinking about what he's possibly doing to them right now." Penelope explained trying to calm herself down.

Morgan hugged her.

"We'll find them" he said. He was trying hard not to think of what Doyle could be doing because he knew it was bad.

"Garcia. Assuming Clyde is not the mole check if anyone else had any suspicious activities around the time the killings started." Hotch said.

Penelope started typing things quickly on the computer.

"Well... This is something" Penelope said. Jeremy Wolff did some very suspicious things. He bought a house in Spain with one of his covers and accessed a bank account with well... Way more money he should have" Garcia said.

"And when was that?" Derek asked.

"Right before he died." Garcia said.

"What if he sold the list to Doyle?" JJ asked.

"That would explain him being the first victim and his quiet death" Morgan said.

"Do you think Tsia knew about this?" JJ asked.

"It doesn't seem like it. She didn't touch that money when she ran so I don't think she's in on it" Penelope said.

"I'll talk to Clyde" Hotch said and walked out.

 **.**

"Did you know that Jeremy Wolff sold the list to Doyle?" Hotch asked Clyde.

"I had my suspicions" Clyde said.

"So when you got to DC you couldn't trust Tsia either. Prentiss read your doubts as duplicity and so did we. Look, someone we both care about is in trouble. They took her daughter too. Clyde. I need the original profile when Doyle was a terrorist. We combine that to who he is now as a serial killer." Hotch said.

"Agent Hotchner, you took an oath to protect the laws of your country and I took one to protect the secrets of mine. Do you understand what you're asking me?" Clyde said.

"I know it's not easy" Hotch said.

"I'll do it. If you join me. You see, there's no catching that man. He would escape from your prison as easily as he did North Korea and then... All hell breaks loose. If you want to stop that man you have to put a bullet between his eyes yourself. Can you do that?... Can you break your oath?" Clyde said.

"No" Hotch said.

"Can you take one then?" Clyde asked. "Can you swear that your team will save her? Save them?"

"Yes" Hotch said serious.

Suddenly JJ knocked on the door.

"The British conceal is here" she said.

"Could you tell him I'll be right out?" Clyde said. "I'm consulting with the BAU on a case" he said and Hotch looked at him with a thankful face.

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"Ian Doyle is a psychopath. Highly controlling. Very explosive when something doesn't go as planned" Clyde told the team.

"But where do Prentiss come in this?" Morgan asked.

"He sees her as he's stressor." Hotch said.

"She portrayed his lover" Clyde said.

"So family" Rossi said.

"Has he ever killed a child before this?" Reid asked.

"Not that we know of. Why?" Clyde asked.

"He killed Sean's girl and a young boy. He didn't have to but he did" JJ said.

"A family annihilator?" Garcia said.

"Annihilator have a romanticize view of who their family is." Reid said.

"Doyle's an orphan" Clyde said.

"They think of family as their possessions until some loss shatters. That start some killing" Morgan said.

"But Doyle was never married." Clyde said.

"Children?" Rossi asked.

"No" Clyde said.

"You wrote on your profile that he carried his murders with surgical like precision" Reid said.

"Yes" Clyde said.

"No collateral damage" Derek said handing out the picture of the boy that was murdered.

"Right" said Clyde.

"Perhaps this child was a surrogate for the one he had" Rossi said.

"Say Doyle had a child that you didn't know about, is it possible that Prentiss did?" JJ asked.

"But why would she keep it from me?" Clyde asked confused.

"Who else was on the compound the day you arrested Doyle?" Hotch asked.

"Just his staff" Clyde said.

"All Irish?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah"

"That's a start" Hotch said and looked at Penelope.

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Doyle walked in where Emily was.

"Why don't we end this?" He said.

Emily's eyes widened.

"I think you know what all of this is about" Doyle said. "Game's over love" he said pulling out his gun. "Time for your last confession" he said pointing the gun to Emily's head.

Emily's eyes were filled with tears.

"Take me to where he died" she said. "I wanna see it"

Doyle took a moment to think and then he put the gun back on the holster. He kneed down and started to untie her.

"Breathe" Emily whispered to herself as she tried to gain control.

Doyle untied her and took her to where the boy died.

"Nobody knew but you" Doyle said. "I never told anyone the truth about Declan. You were the only one. And you put him on your profile, didn't you?" He said as they walked there.

"Yes" Emily said.

"For two years I didn't talk. The North Koreans used everything you gave them against me. It wasn't until they showed me this" Doyle said getting a photograph out of his jacket pocket. A picture of a woman and a little boy all tied up.

Emily took a peek and looked away quickly.

"They laughed at me as I wept. And you cause all of this didn't you?"

"Yes I did" Emily said.

"That corner right there is where he died. And that's where I'm gonna kill you" Doyle said and suddenly pushed Emily to the wall.

Emily fell on the ground. She kneed and stared at him.

"There's something you don't know... About those photos" Emily said.

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"I got it" Penelope said typing something on the computer as the team gathered around her. "I matched Irish immigration records based on Doyle's employees. Declan Jones. He's the only boy who matches. He settled in Boston 8 years ago. Adoptive guardian Louise Jones." Garcia said as the pictures showed up on the screen.

"I knew her. She was Doyle housekeeper." Clyde said.

"Are they still alive" Hotch asked and Garcia started looking it up.

"Declan and his mother went missing seven years ago. Bodies were never found." She started as she typed more things. "Wait wait wait. What is this?" She said.

And suddenly the photos of the boy and the woman being killed filled the screen.

"Oh god someone took pictures of them being shot" Penelope said.

"Is there an address?" Hotch asked.

"It looks like a warehouse..." Penelope said as she typed more stuff. "It could be big enough to hold an army. That's weapon… supply, which means that it has his own perimeter ummmm found it! 1518 Adams Street, Boston." Penelope said.

"Get everybody" Hotch said and the team gathered everything they needed to go.

"You did it" Derek told Garcia with a smile.

"Just bring them home" Penelope said as her eyes filled with tears.

Hotch and Morgan gathered everyone to talk.

"Agent Prentiss and her daughter are the only friendly in the building. Rescuing them is our primarily objective." Hotch said.

"Our only advantage here is stealth. Once they know we're on site there's nothing stopping them from killing." Morgan said. "So we keep it quiet until we get to them" he said.

Penelope walked to a window, put her hands together and whispered "please let them come home safe. Please let them come home"

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"After your arrest I relocated Louise and Declan. And then I got a call..." Emily said as Doyle kept aiming her. "Interpol had sent back our profile. The head of the terrorism division wanted more dirt on you so they could break you"

"So you used my son as a promotion" Doyle said.

"No" Emily said. "I wouldn't let him be involved in this. The things they would have done to him to get you to talk..." Emily said. "But I knew that even if I didn't cooperate they were gonna find him eventually. So I had to-"

"Had to what?" Doyle said really angry getting closer to Emily.

"I had to end his suffering... Before it could begin" Emily said and Doyle hit her across the face with his gun.

"You put him in the profile. What else did you do?" Doyle asked pressing Emily against the wall.

"I put him in the profile after the pictures were taken" Emily said.

"You don't know when those pictures were taken. You don't know that" Doyle said.

"Yes I do" Emily said. "I'm the one holding the gun" she said and looked at him straight in the eyes.

Doyle grabbed her and pushed her to another wall. Then he threw her to the ground. Emily moaned in pain.

In the other room, Isabella just cried as she heard her mother. The girl was terrified.

"You wanna hear his last words to me?" Emily asked and Doyle kicked her in the stomach.

"He said" she started but stopped because of the pain. "He said: I looked pretty good for a dead kid, didn't I? And then he got on the plane and I never saw him again"

"He's alive?" Doyle asked extremely angry now and kicked Emily in the stomach again.

"Just because I held a gun to him... doesn't mean I shot him" Emily said fighting thru the pain. "I only had to make you and the North Koreans believe he was dead"

Doyle went down and basically lifted Emily up himself and pushed her into the wall.

"No, you're lying." Doyle said and they started fighting.

Emily kicked him and his gun fell on the floor.

Emily wrapped her arms around his neck. "I beat you Ian. Before you even got out of North Korea. I beat you. Because I gave Declan his life back" she said.

"I'll find him" Doyle said as Emily chocked him.

"No you won't. Ever since you told me my people had Fahey I've been stalking you" Emily said.

Suddenly the power went off and Emily looked up surprised. Like that she gave Ian an opportunity.

He pushed them into a desk.

She got up, grabbed a wooden leg and started hitting him.

She hit him three times and the piece of wood fell on the ground.

Doyle grabbed it and before she could do anything, he pushed it into her stomach.

Emily moaned in pain.

"Where is he? Where's Declan, Emily? Tell" Doyle asked and Emily fell on the ground. "Tell me" he said sitting up and staring at her. "Where is he? Emily tell me where he is"

"No" Emily said almost a whisper.

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In the other room when the lights went out Isabella hugged her legs tightly and went as far into the wall as she could.

"Quiet" Liam told her and the girl obeyed.

After a little while he heard a noise.

"If you move you know what happens" he told the girl and went to the door.

Suddenly he was shot multiple times.

Isabella covered her ears as she heard the noise. She couldn't control it and pee her pants because of the fear.

Suddenly three SWAT men walked in pointing the guns at her. She closed her eyes and kept her hands on her ears.

"It's alright Isabella. Come with us" one of the men said.

The girl stayed in the corner and just shook her head no.

One of the swat agents saw she was chained so he went down to unchain her. He did that and the girl kept pulling away from them.

Suddenly Hotch walked in.

"Bella?" He said. The girl looked up quickly but didn't take her hand out. "Bella it's me Aaron. Come on. It's okay. We got you" he said kneeing down close to her.

The girl just stared at him.

He touched her hand and she jumped and hugged him.

"It's okay. We've got you" Hotch told the child, who was clearly in shock.

Suddenly Bella let go and said "where's my mom?"

Hotch looked at her eyes and said "they are looking for her. Let's get you out of here." He said and they stood up. Bella took Aaron's hand and they slowly started to walk out.

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Emily hit him three times and the piece of wood fell on the ground.

Doyle grabbed it and before she could do anything, he pushed it into her stomach.

Emily moaned in pain.

"Where is he? Where's Declan, Emily? Tell" Doyle asked and Emily fell on the ground. "Tell me" he said sitting up and staring at her. "Where is he? Emily tell me where he is"

"No" Emily said almost a whisper.

Doyle heard the agents shooting Liam so he left Emily there and ran away.

Suddenly Derek walked in with four SWAT agents.

"I got her" Derek said going to the floor next to where Emily was laying. "I need a medic." Morgan yelled.

Isabella, who was a few feet away from the room, heard.

The girl just took off.

Hotch ran after her but she was fast.

She walked in and her heart seemed to have stopped when she saw her mother lying on the ground with a piece of wood in her tummy.

"Mom?" Bella said as she saw.

Suddenly Hotch got there. "You need to come with me" he told the girl and grabbed her hand.

"No. Mommy" Bella said and took a step closer but Hotch stopped her. "We need to go" he said. He didn't want the child to see her mother like that.

"No!" Bella yelled and tried walking to Emily but Hotch held her. She started fighting to be let go and he picked her up. "No! Mommy! I want my mommy! Let me go!" The girl cried as Aaron took her outside to an ambulance.

Inside, Derek stayed with Emily.

"Prentiss" he said. "It's me I'm right here. She's okay. Your baby is okay" he said. "And you're gonna be alright. Stay with me baby. Come on, stay with me"

Emily opened her eyes.

"It's okay" Emily told him.

"HELP ME" Derek yelled.

"Listen to me, I know why you did all of this. I know what you did for Declan. And I'm so proud of you. Do you understand that? I am proud of you because you are my friend. You are my partner" he said and Emily started to lose conscious.

"No Emily! Come on. Stay with me. Please you have a baby waiting. Please" he said and she just blinked. "If you can hear me just squeeze my hand" he said and she did that.

"Yes! There you go baby. Just keep squeezing." He said and the medics got there.

They started to poke and prod her and Derek stayed by her side all the way out.

 **.**

 **..**


	72. Chapter 72: The Rode Ahead

…

Outside Hotch was holding Bella as two paramedics tried to examine the girl as she was fighting everyone off of her.

When she saw Emily being carried out she screamed "mom!"

Derek heard and left Emily and ran to the little girl. Hotch let her go and she ran to Morgan. They hugged and she started sobbing.

"I'm right here's it's okay" he told her and then lifted her up. She rested her head on his shoulder as she cried in pain. "Are you hurt?" He asked worried.

"Yes" Bella cried.

"You're gonna be okay" Derek said walking to the ambulance where Hotch was.

"Where's my mom?" Bella asked noticing the other ambulance was gone. "Where is my mom?" She demanded.

Derek looked around and said "They'll take her to the hospital. They'll take care of her."

"Morgan, she needs a doctor" Hotch said.

"No. No!" Bella said hugging Derek tighter.

"It's okay, I'll be right by your side" Morgan said and got inside the ambulance.

"I want my mom" the girl cried.

"We're going to the same hospital." A paramedic said closing the door and the driver started driving. Hotch followed on the FBI SUV.

"Bella they need to check you" Morgan said. "It's alright I'm right here" he added but she would let go of him.

"Hey look. My name is Mary. I just need to take a look on your back, okay?" A paramedic said as she saw blood. She was very calm, understanding the girl was scared.

"I'm gonna cut this shirt you have on, okay?" Mary said and Bella stayed quiet.

The woman got a pair of scissors and cut it off. Bella cried a little as the doctor pulled the shirt off. Her back was hurting so bad.

The doctor made a face as she saw what they were dealing with.

Derek stared at them.

"Honey, we're just gonna cover it up a little and wait for the other doctor to see it, okay?" The woman said but Bella didn't say a word.

The paramedics wet the gaze and covered the girl's back with it.

"Here" Mary said covering the girl with a blanket.

"Sweetie, did you hit your head at all today?" A paramedic asked.

Bella didn't answer.

"Did you?" Derek asked and she shook her head no.

Morgan kept hugging Bella as she just cried in silence.

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When they got to the hospital Derek carried her inside because she wouldn't let go of him.

"What do we have here?" A doctor asked walking inside the trauma room Bella was taken.

"Isabella, 11 years old, severe Taser burns on her back" Mary said.

The female doctor, Doctor Clark, looked at the girl. "Why isn't she connected to anything?" She asked.

"She's really shaken up. She was kidnapped and she's not really talking to anybody" Mary, the paramedic said.

"Alright. Thank you, you can leave" the doctor told her. "You need to lay her down" she told Derek.

Derek put Bella down but the girl hugged him tight.

"It's okay Bella. We're just gonna look" the doctor said as Isabella cried and didn't let go.

"Bella I'm right here. You can hold my hand princess" Derek said and she let go and grabbed his arm.

The doctors started sticking things on her chest. They went to put an IV and she looked down on her arm as she felt the poke.

"No!" She cried and tried to get away from them and closer to Derek.

"We need to sedate her" the doctor said. "Get a light one, she's little" she added.

The nurse got back with a mask for Bella to breathe on. She put it on the girl and suddenly Bella felt that same thing she felt back at Penelope's office when agent Seamons gave her a shot.

Her eyes widened with fear and she fought even more as she felt it.

"It's okay. You're okay. I'm right here. I won't leave your side" Derek said squeezing her hand.

She slowly stopped fighting them and closed her eyes.

"Alright I need a blood test and a head CT for yesterday" Dr. Clark said.

The woman looked at Derek and said "sir you need to leave"

"Didn't you hear what I told her? I'm not leaving her side" Derek said.

By the way he said it the doctor knew he wasn't going anywhere.

"Alright. But you need to let us do our job" she said. Derek nodded and they started. They took the girl's clothes off and a nurse noticed the smell.

"Do you know if she peed?" the nurse asked and Derek shook his head no. The woman smelled the girl's pants and said "she did".

"Clean her up for me so I can take care of her back" the doctor said and the nurse did what was told.

Doctor Clark started taking some of Isabella's blood. Then they turned the girl around to look at her back.

"Oh wow" Clark said surprised with what she saw. She had never seen so many taser burns in one person. Especially such a small one. "I'll clean this myself" she said. "What happened to her?" She asked Morgan.

The man was concentrating on his breathing because what he was seeing on the girl's lower back didn't let him think straight.

"Is this a..." the doctor asked as she saw it too. "Oh my god" she said in disbelief.

"He branded her" Derek said as his eyes filled with tears and he felt really angry.

"If you need a moment... It's okay to go outside. She'll stay sleeping" Doctor Clark said.

"No. I'm fine" Derek said and squeezed the girl's hand. "Just do what you have to" he said trying hard to stay calm.

The doctor cleaned the girl's back and put bandages on it. Then a nurse put a hospital gown on her.

"Her vitals look great, there are no other injuries than her back but I'll do a head CT to make sure" Clark said. "Unfortunately you can't go with her" she told Derek.

He knew he couldn't.

"I'll wait right outside" he said and the doctor nodded and they wheeled Bella.

They did the test and the doctor told him everything was okay but they wanted to keep the girl in for a couple hours for observation.

So Bella was taken to a room.

Derek took a seat on the chair next to the bed as the child slept peacefully.

He took her hand again. "I'm right here. Uncle Derek is here" he said and suddenly Hotch walked in.

"I just talked to her doctor" Hotch said "she'll be alright" he added.

"How's Emily?" Derek asked.

"They took her to surgery" Hotch said. "The team is coming" he said and Derek nodded and stared at Bella again.

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Penelope, Reid, Rossi and JJ were anxiously waiting for news at the Boston PD Station when Hotch called.

"We've got them. Both" Hotch said and they breathed out relieved.

"Could you guys come to the General Hospital?" He asked.

"Are they hurt?" Garcia asked.

"Yes" Hotch said.

"How bad?" Penelope asked.

"Bella will be okay but... Emily is on surgery. It's bad" Hotch said.

"We'll be right there" JJ said.

"And Garcia, if you can get Bella some pajamas that would be great" Hotch said.

"Of course sir. Of course" Penelope said and hung up.

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Doctor Clark entered Isabella's room.

"She should wake up any minute now. It was just a light sedative in order for us to do what had to be done. It would have been painful for her to be awake" she said.

Derek nodded.

"Does she have any family coming?" She asked.

"I am her family" Derek said.

The woman stared at him a bit confused. "Didn't you rescue her from this man?" She said.

"Her mother is my partner. We work for the FBI. I'm her uncle" he explained.

"Oh." Clark said. There was a bit of silence and the woman said "I should get going"

Derek just nodded.

"If she coughs don't worry it's normal. It's because of the gas of sedation. If it's bad we can give her some medicine for it" she said and walked out.

Derek just sat there with Bella for a while till the girl started coughing. She was laying on her right side.

He stood up, started soothing her hair and told her she'd be okay.

Suddenly she opened her eyes. She woke up, feeling heavy and a little confused from all the drugs. She looked around, taking in her surroundings and realizing where she was, then she closed her eyes again.

"Hi princess" Derek smiled happy to see the girl awake.

"Mommy?" Bella said still very sleepy.

"The doctors are helping her. Don't worry baby girl" Derek said giving Bella's hand a squeeze and the girl opened her eyes again.

"Let me get the doctor to check on you" he said and went to the door.

Doctor Clark got inside. She smiled at Bella.

"Do you remember what happened, honey?"

Isabella blinked, images flashing through her mind. She nodded.

"Where's my mom?" she murmured.

"The doctors are taking good care of her" the woman promised.

She checked Isabella's vitals, her eyes and then said "you look a bit better. Are you in any pain?"

"No medicine" Bella said scared they would sedate her again.

Derek knew why she was scared so he said "you won't go back to sleep. It's just to help with the pain"

"No" Bella said.

"Alright. If you need anything just press this button here and a nurse will come" Clark said.

"Thank you" Derek said grabbing the little girl's hand again.

"I wanna go home" Bella said.

"You'll stay here just for a few hours, okay?" Doctor Clark said. "Don't worry you'll go home soon" the woman said and walked out.

With time the girl was getting more awake. Derek gave her some water and then took his seat. She would not let go of his hand.

After a while the team appeared at the door.

"Hey look who's here" Derek smiled and Bella looked at the door.

"Hi" Penelope said, her eyes full of tears watching the girl who now seemed to look way smaller than before.

Everyone looked worried and like they had been crying.

Bella just stared at them with a blank face.

"We got you balloons and new pajamas" Penelope said walking closer to the bed as Rossi walked inside holding 8 balloons.

Bella looked at Derek and got a little closer to him, trying to hide her face.

Everyone just stared feeling horrible. They could see how traumatized the girl was.

"Oh the balloons are so pretty. Look how many" Derek told her.

Bella looked at it and Penelope smiled, the girl gave her a little smile back that soon turned into tears.

Bella took her hands to her face embarrassed.

"Do you want to seat on the couch with me?" Derek asked and the girl nodded and started coughing.

"Why is she coughing?" Rossi asked a little worried.

"It's because of the medicine she took" Derek said. He lifted her up and she cried a little bit in pain.

Rossi wheeled the IV pole closer to the couch and Derek sat there with Bella in his arms.

"Penny" Bella whispered still crying.

Garcia quickly walked there and Bella grabbed her hand, so she sat next to them.

"I'm gonna check on Emily" JJ mouthed so Bella wouldn't hear and walked out.

Hotch went after her and they went to get news.

In Isabella's room the girl looked scared and everyone felt awful.

"You're gonna be okay bunny. You'll see. You'll be just fine" Penelope told her and the child rested her head on Derek's chest, coughing from time to time.

Bella didn't say a word, she just stayed there.

After a while JJ walked in.

"News?" Rossi asked.

"She's still on surgery. They said it might take a while" JJ said.

Bella was about to ask something when she started to cough a lot. And with that came the crying because her back was hurting so much every time she coughed.

"Let me get the doctor" JJ said and walked out. She explained what was wrong and Dr. Clark and a nurse walked in with a nebulizer.

"Hi Bella" Clark said smiling and walking to the girl, who just stayed quiet on Derek's arms and didn't even look at the woman. "Have you ever used a nebulizer?" The doctor asked but the child didn't answer. "Well it's this little machine here that we put some medicine to help with your cough and then it vaporizes into the mask and you'll breathe it and it makes it better" she explained but Bella didn't care at all.

"Here… how about we try it a little?" Doctor Clark said putting the mask on the girl.

When she did that Bella started to move, trying to get away. Derek wrapped his arms around her so she would not move.

"No! No! Let me go!" The girl cried so bad.

"It's okay princess it's okay" Derek said trying to hold her as she moved her head away from the mask. "They won't sedate you baby girl. It's okay. You won't go to sleep again" Derek said. "I promise" he said and Bella stopped fighting.

She took a deep breath into the mask and saw it didn't make her feel like sedation did.

"There you go" Clark smiled handing the mask to the girl who held it and rested her head again on Derek's chest.

"I'll be back when it's done" Clark said and walked out.

Penelope was crying and JJ was hugging her.

"She's okay" JJ told her.

Bella started shaking a little because she was really cold.

"Can you get me a blanket?" Morgan asked them.

Rossi walked to the bed, got the blanket and covered the girl on Derek's arm.

Bella stayed there quietly till the nebulizer was finished. The nurse took it and checked the girl. Then they just sat there. She was still coughing a little but not as often.

"Bed" the girl whispered after a while. Her back was hurting a lot from resting it on Derek's arm. So the man put her back on the bed. She flinched as he laid her down.

Spencer who was sitting on a chair on the left side gave her a little smile but she didn't smile back. "I brought chess. Do you want to play a game with me?" He asked.

Bella nodded no.

He lifted his hand and touched her shoulder. She immediately turned to the right side where Derek was. Fear evident in her face.

"Hey. It's just Reid" Derek said.

Bella took a deep breath and turned back around feeling bad. She put out a hand and Reid took it and gave it a squeeze.

"Do you want to play chess now?" Reid asked and the girl who shook her head no again. "Okay" Reid said and gave her a little smile.

Bella just looked blank.

"Can I sit here?" Penelope asked with her hand on the right side of the bed and Bella nodded yes.

Garcia sat up on the bed and grabbed Bella's hand. "You'll be good as new really fast. You'll see" Penelope said with a smile while Rossi turned the tv on.

After a while everyone could see Bella was fighting her sleep as she watched tv.

"Hey why don't you try to sleep a little? It might help" Derek told the girl who just shook her head no. Derek sat on the chair on the right side, while Reid sat on the left side and held Bella's hand and Garcia sat on the bed and did the same. Rossi and JJ were sitting on the couch and Hotch was outside in the waiting room waiting for news on Emily.

After some time Bella couldn't stand anymore. She was so tired and everything hurt.

"Uncle Derek?" She whispered.

"Yes princess?" He asked Bella, who was embarrassed and hid her face on Derek's stomach as the man got close to the bed.

"Hey" He said soothing the girl's hair. "What happened?" He asked worried.

"I wanna sleep" the girl whispered without looking up.

"Baby girl. You can sleep you don't have to ask" Derek said unsure of what was going on. He tried to make Bella lay back normally again but the girl wouldn't move and then Derek realized she was embarrassed of something.

"Do you want them to leave?" Morgan bent a bit down to her ear and asked in a lower voice but high enough for the team to hear.

"No. I just want you to lay with me" the girl said still hiding her face.

"Scoot over" Derek said with a smile and Bella did what she was told but didn't look up at anybody. Derek got on the bed and embraced the small girl, who snuggle up to him and closed her eyes.

The team just looked at the two and smiled. Everyone was glad Bella was safe.

"I'll grab some food for us" Penelope said. She thought now that Bella would sleep they could eat and rest a little while waiting for Emily. "Love you Bellie" she said but the girl had already fallen asleep.

"Well, that was fast" Derek joked soothing the child's hair, and everyone smiled.

"I'm coming with you" Reid said and walked to the door.

.

After a while, Penelope and Reid got back with tacos.

"I hate this hospital food" Penelope said.

They tried to eat but no one was really on the mood for that.

"So what exactly happened to her?" Rossi asked. He thought someone would eventually ask and why not be him.

"she has multiple taser burns on her back" Derek said and everyone's eyes widened. "and.." He said but didn't finish.

"and what?" Reid asked.

"He branded her" Derek said and every looked at him in shock "It's on her lower back" he said.

"Oh my god" Penelope said crying.

JJ hugged her. "She'll get through this. She's tough" JJ said.

.

About an hour later they still didn't get news from the doctors about Emily.

"It's taking so long" Garcia said.

"She's on surgery Garcia. It takes time" Rossi said.

They watched some tv and another hour went by and still no news. Derek had moved to the chair about 30 minutes before the girl started moving on the bed.

"Oh I think she's having a bad dream" Garcia said as her eyes filled with tears again.

"Mommy?" Bella whispered in her sleep.

"Shuuuu shuuu it's okay pretty girl, everything is okay" Garcia hurried to the bed and told the girl.

Bella moved a little bit and suddenly jumped as her eyes shot open and she gasped for air.

"Shuuu it's me. It's Penelope" Garcia said trying to calm the girl.

"Derek" Bella cried and Morgan hurried over. The girl opened her arms to him and he picked her up, she rested on his shoulder and he rocked her slightly.

"It's okay princess you're safe" he told her as she cried.

"I want my mommy" Bella cried.

"She's still on surgery honey" JJ said.

"Why is it taking so long?" Bella cried.

"Surgeries are like that, bunny. Don't worry" Penelope said walking to Derek who was walking around the room. She stood behind him and Bella looked at her. "It's okay. You're safe, monkey" Garcia said with her eyes full of tears.

Bella started to calm down and suddenly the doctor walked in.

"What happened?" Doctor Clark asked.

"She had a bad dream" JJ said.

"Well, she's good to go" Clark said. "She'll need these two medications for the pain and she'll need a bandage change tomorrow. So you can either bring her here or to another hospital" she said.

Suddenly Bella coughed.

"What about the cough?" Derek asked.

"That will go away in the next couple hours. Oh and not baths for a while, only showers" Clark said and Derek nodded as he kept moving around so Bella would fully calm down.

"A nurse will bring the discharge papers" the doctor said and walked out.

"See we can go now." Derek said.

"Yeah. We'll take you to a fancy hotel with a really big bed so you can rest" Garcia smiled.

"No, I want mommy" Bella whispered and cried.

"She's on surgery, Bella. I think it will take a little while." JJ said.

"No! I'm not leaving." Bella said sounding angry now.

The team knew they were dealing with a Prentiss and making her go would just make things worse.

"Okay. We can stay in the waiting room" Derek said.

Suddenly the nurse walked in. They signed the discharge papers and the nurse took Bella's IV off.

"How about you put on the comfy pjs I got you?" Garcia asked and Bella just gave her a nod.

Derek carried the girl to the bathroom and Penelope and he helped her change into the purple pajamas Garcia had bought.

"I'm cold" Bella said even though she was wearing pants and long sleeves.

"I'll get you a coat" Penelope said.

Derek picked the little girl up and they went to the waiting room. He placed her on his lap and she rested her head on his chest. Penelope went with Reid to a little shop at the hospital they had seen close to the cafeteria. They got a blue guardian for Bella and headed back.

"Here" Garcia said and helped Bella put it on. "Is that better?" She asked the girl who just nodded and rested on Derek's chest again.

Doctor Clark walked by and saw them there so she stopped. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Her mom is on surgery and she didn't want to leave" Derek said.

"Oh" Clark said feeling sorry for the girl. She looked at Bella and saw she looked cold. "Are you cold, honey?" She asked but Bella didn't even move. The doctor simply walked away and then got back with a blanket. "Here. This might help" she said covering Bella up on Derek's arms.

"Thanks" Morgan said. The doctor smiled and walked away.

They stayed there for a very long time. Bella slept for about 30 minutes and then couldn't sleep anymore.

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Almost 6 hours had passed since Emily's surgery started when Hotch called for JJ. JJ went out so they could talk.

"She's in the icu" Hotch said.

"Are we doing that still?" She asked him.

"We have no choice. If he knows she's alive he'll kill her and probably Isabella too" Hotch said.

He had already explained the plan to JJ earlier.

"Sir I don't think I can lie to them like this" JJ said.

"We don't have a choice Jennifer. If we don't there's no saying what he could do." Hotch said.

JJ looked out the window.

"We have to" Hotch said..

"How am I supposed to lie to a little girl about her mother being dead?" JJ asked.

"If you don't that little girl might not be here with us in a very short time" Hotch said.

JJ took a deep breath.

"We have to" she said.

"Yes we have to" Hotch said and gave her a hug. "I already took care of everything so I'll go in with you." He said letting go of the hug.

JJ nodded and they walked to the waiting room.

As they walked in everyone noticed JJ red eyes. They stared at her and they knew.

"No" Penelope said as her eyes filled with tears.

"She never made it off the table" JJ said. Her eyes red and full of tears.

Isabella heard that but she didn't react to it. While everyone started crying she just sat there.

JJ looked at her and she felt horrible but she knew their lives depended on it.

"Bella" she said walking to the girl. She touched Isabella's shoulder and the girl jumped out of Derek's arms and ran.

But before she made it through the door Derek grabbed her.

"No! Mommy! Mom! Let me go" she cried trying to get rid of him but he would not let go. "I wanna see her" Bella cried.

"Bella you can't do that" JJ said.

"I want my mommy!" Bella yelled.

"Bella, I'm sorry but she's not here anymore sweetheart" Hotch said close to her.

Bella just let go.

She fell on the floor and Derek went down and wrapped her in his arms as her sobs filled the room.

No one said anything.

Derek just hugged her and let cry.

After a while he picked her up and she rested her head on his shoulder still crying. Penelope walked to them and grabbed Isabella's hand.

Derek sat down and she stayed on his lap. He just let her cry.

After a while he said "Shuuuu" slightly rocking her.

"What happens to me now?" Bella whispered crying.

"I got you. Don't worry, okay?" Derek said.

"We are right here" Garcia said giving Bella's hand a squeeze.

"I wanna go home" Bella said, almost a whisper, crying.

"We'll go home very soon" Derek said.

"Take her to the hotel. She doesn't need to stay here" Hotch said.

"Do you wanna go now?" Derek asked her and she nodded yes crying.

He stood up with the girl on his arms and walked out. Penelope followed right behind.

"Let's get a cab" Penelope said as tears still streamed down her face.

They went on the cab and the three sat on the back together. Isabella wouldn't let go of Morgan and she silently cried the entire ride to the hotel. They checked in and took her to the room. Derek placed her on the bed. She was calmer now but tears were still streaming down her face. She curled herself up and Garcia laid next to her. She moved closer to the woman. Penelope wrapped the girl in her arms and both started crying badly.

Morgan went to the bed and wrapped both in his arms.

"It's going to be okay" he told them.

They laid on the bed together and Isabella cried herself to sleep.

Penelope and Derek had stopped crying and were just quiet till Penelope said "can she live with me?"

Derek looked at her.

"Why don't you both stay at my house for a while. Just till things calm down. He's still out there" Derek said.

"But wasn't Emily the one he wanted to hurt?" Penelope said.

"Yes but we need to make sure she's safe" Morgan said.

"Do you think he'll come back for her?" Garcia asked while tears filled her eyes again.

"No. It's unlikely. He knows it will be dangerous to get near us now but we have to make sure she's safe" Derek said and Penelope nodded yes.

"I just can't believe this is happening" she said looking at Bella as tears streamed down her face.

"Hey. She has us. She's going to be alright" Derek said.

Penelope nodded and got out of bed. She walked to the other side and hugged him and just sobbed. She was trying to be strong for Bella but she couldn't. She loved Emily. She just loved her like family and she could not believe she was gone. They hugged till Garcia calmed a bit down.

"We should try to get some sleep while she's sleeping" Derek said.

"Yeah" Penelope said standing up again. She walked to the other bed and laid down while Derek turned the light off and laid down next to Bella.

Penelope fell asleep in a short time but Derek couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes the image of Emily in that warehouse filled his mind. He just couldn't sleep.

Isabella was in and out all night. She didn't cry again but she would wake up and look for Derek, once her eyes met his she would get as close to him as she could and he would tell her to go to sleep and she would try to. She woke up multiple times during the night to find Morgan right there just waiting to tight his arms around her.

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The next day, Penelope woke up at 10:20. Derek was finally asleep but Bella was awake.

"Hey. You're awake " Garcia said. Bella looked at her thru a shed of tears.

"Come here" Penelope said lifting the covers. Bella quickly got out of bed and laid next to her aunt.

"It's gonna be okay. It's going to be fine" Garcia said.

"No It won't" Bella cried.

"Hey. Look at me" Penelope said sitting up. As hard as that was for her she knew she had to be strong for that little girl next to her. "I lost my parents too and I'm here and I'm okay, aren't I?" She said.

Bella just stared.

"And you're gonna be okay too" she said and hugged the little girl. "I didn't have anyone else but you have me and your uncle Derek right there, who loves you and we'll take care of you" she said.

"I just miss her already" Bella cried.

"I know you do, bunny. I know. I miss her too" Garcia said as a few tears escaped her eyes.

Suddenly Derek woke up.

"Is everything okay?" He asked when he saw them crying.

"It will be" Garcia said. She signed for him to get over there and he went.

"Scoot over" Derek told them and they moved to the side. He laid down next to them and just hugged them. Bella right in the middle.

"Can I stay with you now?" Bella asked them.

"We'll make sure you do" Derek said.

"I love Jeremy but I don't wanna stay with him" Bella said crying.

"I'm sure he'll understand that honey" Penelope said.

"And I won't let him take you" Derek promised.

They fell asleep again and woke up around 1pm with Hotch calling Morgan's phone.

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JJ went to see Emily in her hospital room and she couldn't help but cry. Her friend was surrounded by so many wires and tubes. She felt a little better knowing Bella would not have to see that. But she felt awful for lying.

She walked closer to the bed and held Emily's hand.

"I'll make sure she's safe. We'll make sure" JJ said. "And you just be okay so you can go back home" she said.

"I'm so sorry" JJ said crying now.

Suddenly Hotch walked in.

"Isabella is in the hotel with Morgan and Garcia." Hotch said.

JJ wiped her tears and nodded.

"The doctors said it might take a while for her to wake up. So I'll arrange everything for the funeral and you can..." Hotch said but as he noticed JJ was about to break down he stopped.

The woman started crying really bad, so he hugged her.

"She will be okay. They both will be okay" Hotch said as she just cried.

He made her sit on a couch in the room.

"Jennifer I know how hard this is and how hard this will be. But we do not have a choice here. You cannot tell anyone the truth no matter how hard that is. It's our duty to protect her" Hotch said and then looked at Emily.

"I know. It's just..." JJ said.

"It's Bella. I know. If she was older maybe we could tell her but... But not now. She's a little kid and it's too much responsibility for her. She needs to be a kid" Hotch said.

"How can she? After all of this" JJ said.

"With us by her side she can" Hotch said.

JJ just stared at Emily. "She's gonna be so mad when she wakes up" JJ said.

"I know but she'll understand. She left Bella to face Doyle. She knows what he's capable of. She'll understand this" Hotch said.

JJ nodded knowing he was right.

"You are authorized to come visit her as much as you can. We're gonna keep her here in Boston and then we'll fly her somewhere safe" Hotch said.

"Okay" JJ said.

Hotch gave her hand a squeeze and left the room.

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"It's my phone" Morgan said sitting up as Bella got a bit closer to Penelope.

"Hello?" Derek said.

"It's me Hotch. How is she?" He asked.

"Hanging there" Morgan said.

"I just talked to her doctor and she needs a bandage change before we can go back to DC. So I scheduled one for 3:30pm and we're leaving on the jet at 5 if everything goes okay" Hotch said.

"Okay. I'll take her and we'll meet on the jet" Derek said.

"Okay. Anything just call" Hotch said and they hung up.

"Who was it?" Penelope asked.

"Hotch" Derek said. "She has a little check-up at 3:30 today" he said laying back down.

"I don't wanna go back to the hospital" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"We'll be right there with you and it will be really fast and then we'll go home" Derek said.

"You're gonna fly on the jet with us" he said with a small smile.

"Really?" Bella asked serious.

"Yeah" he smiled.

She moved closer to him and he wrapped her in his arms.

They watched some tv till it was time to go.

Derek carried the girl outside and suddenly Reid opened his hotel room door.

"Hi. I was just about to go see you" Reid said. "Are you going somewhere?" He asked, his eyes were red from crying.

"She has a little check-up before we can go to DC" Garcia said.

"Oh. I got her this" Reid said holding up a navy blue winter coat. "It said it would snow on the weather channel" he said.

"Thanks Spencer" Penelope smiled. She looked at Bella and said "let's put it on, bunny?"

Derek put the girl down and Penelope helped her put it on.

"That looks perfect" Garcia smiled at Bella, even though the coat looked a bit big on the girl.

Bella just stayed quiet and went to Derek again so he picked her up.

"Let's go?" Derek asked.

"Yeah yeah." Penelope said. "We'll see you later Spencer" Garcia said and they left. Reid went back inside and sat to read.

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The drive to the hospital was quiet. They sat on the back of the cab and Bella wouldn't let go of Morgan. She was scared of going back there.

The taxi dropped them off at the hospital entrance and Hotch was there.

"Hi" Hotch said when they got to him. Bella was waking right between them and holding their hands.

"The doctor will call her right up" Hotch said and they walked in.

Penelope went to the front desk while Derek sat in the waiting room with Bella on his lap.

There were a few kids playing as they all waited at the clinic.

"408" the front desk lady told Penelope. "The doctor will be right there"

Penelope went and told Derek and they went to the doctor's office. Derek put Bella on the exam table and stood next to her.

"Do you wanna take your coat off?" Derek asked and she nodded no. She pulled him close and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped her in a hug. "It's gonna be okay baby girl" he said.

Penelope grabbed her hand and they stayed there waiting for the doctor.

After a while Doctor Clark walked in.

"You're still working?" Penelope asked.

"Double shift" the doctor said. "Hi Bella" she smiled at the girl who just looked away. "She looks better" she told Derek. "Has she eaten anything?" She asked.

"No" Penelope said. "We took her to the hotel and fell asleep. We didn't even think about that"

"Well she needs to keep a good died in order to heal quicker so… You have to eat a little young lady" the woman said.

Derek let go of Bella as the doctor approached to exam her.

"Well, let's take this coat off so I can take a look at you princess?" The woman said.

Bella didn't do anything, didn't even look at her, so Derek went and took her coat off and then the cardigan.

"Now can you lay down for me?" The woman asked and Bella laid down. Not letting go of Derek's hand.

Bella let the doctor check her vitals, her stomach, everything. She just laid there and didn't say a word.

"Everything looks fine with her. She has a few bruises that will heal just fine with time." Clark said.

"What about her back?" Penelope asked.

"We'll need to do a bandage change and she can keep it for two days and then at your local hospital they'll have to do it again or you can just do it at home" Clark said.

"Okay" Garcia said.

Bella squeezed Derek's hand and when he looked at her he saw she was about to cry.

"Come here" he said and picked her up as she just cried in his arms. "We're gonna be right here with you. It's going to fine" he told her.

"It's gonna hurt, isn't it?" Bella said.

"A little bit" Derek said. He didn't want to lie and say it wouldn't hurt at all.

"Just a little bit?" Bella asked as tears kept rolling.

"Yeah. Just a little. You can do it, pumpkin. And we'll be right here. Okay?" Penelope said and the girl nodded crying.

"I'm scared" Isabella cried.

"I know you are but we promise it's going to be okay" Penelope said as she grabbed the girl's hand.

"We'll be right here" Derek said.

"Okay" Bella said and went to wipe her face, Garcia helped.

"Alright. So let's do it really fast?" Clark said as two nurses walked in and Bella just hugged Derek.

"Come on. We'll be right beside you" Derek said walking and placing her on the exam table.

"Look. Nurse Cadee will give you a medicine before, alright? And it will make you feel better okay?" The doctor said and the girl just kept quiet.

The nurse walked close with an injection and Bella moved away.

"It's okay this won't hurt" the doctor said.

"No. No shot! No" Bella said trying to get away but the other nurse and the doctor held her down. The woman pulled her pants down and injected the medicine on her leg. Bella's eyes filled with tears as she felt it burning.

"Au" she whispered.

"All done" the nurse said.

"Can you still feel that?" Doctor Clark asked and Bella nodded no and wiped her face a little.

"Good job" Derek told her with a smile.

"Has anyone ever told you how tough you are?" The doctor said and Bella looked at Derek.

"Oh yeah. They have" Clark smiled.

"She's a tough cookie" Derek said smiling at Bella.

"She is" Clark said pulling the girl's pants up. "Alright so now let's see your back" she said and everyone noticed how Isabella tensed.

"Can you just wait a little bit? Just a little bit?" Bella said as tears filed her eyes again.

"Of course" Clark said.

"You can do it princess" Derek said.

"Can you hold me?" Isabella asked Derek and started crying again. "It's gonna hurt bad. It already hurts" she said taking her hand to her eyes.

Derek looked at the doctor not knowing what he could or couldn't do.

"How about if he sits in there with you? Huh? Would that be okay?" Clark said and Bella nodded.

"Let me get on this side" he said. Bella sat up and he sat next to her.

"Let's take your shirt off" the doctor said. "And then you can lay down on his lap." She said.

The doctor took Isabella's pajamas shirt off and Derek helped the girl lay on his lap. Her back facing the outside of the bed.

Isabella felt the air touching her back.

"Penny?" She called.

"I'm right here" Garcia said and held Isabella's hand.

"We'll do one at a time here. So it's best if we start with this one" Clark said remembering the one in the middle of her back was the less hurt. She began taking the bandage off.

"Wait" Bella said scared.

"I'm not doing anything yet. I'm just taking it off I'm not putting anything on it" Clark said.

Isabella could feel herself shaking. She was so scared. She knew it was going to hurt.

"Oh God Derek" she cried.

"It's alright. It's gonna be quick baby girl. It's okay" Derek said holding her hand as the girl snuggled closer to him.

"Just the cotton ball now, okay?" Clark said and before Bella said anything she went for it. Bella flinched and held Derek and Penelope's hand tight as she let out a "ouch" and followed it with tears. The doctor cleaned 2 more spots and closed it with a new bandage.

"This one is done sweetheart. You did really good" Clark said.

"How many more?" Bella whispered crying.

"We're almost done" Clark lied to her and took another 2 bandages off. The two top ones. She went for it and Bella couldn't help but scream. It broke Penelope's heart.

The doctor went and cleaned the others in which the girl just silently cried. She didn't move at all.

"Just the cream now honey" The doctor said and went for it again.

"Au. It hurts there. It's hurts" Bella cried and the doctor put the cream on.

Clark finished and put the bandages on.

"Is it done?" Bella asked still crying.

"Just one more" Clark said.

"No" Bella cried. "I can't do it" she said. "Please I can't" she cried.

"It's almost done baby" Garcia said crying too.

"No please no. Please I don't want to" the girl cried.

"It's the last one. Come on. You've got this tough girl. You got it." Derek said.

"No" Bella told him.

"You've got it. You're almost done" he said and she just kept looking at him. "Come on. Just squeeze my hand" he said and she squeezed it tight. He nodded to the doctor and she took the bandage off.

Garcia felt like her heart traveled to her throat as she saw that on the lower back Isabella had what it looked like a 3 or 4 taser marks on the same place and a clover brand close to it. It was really red and even had blisters on it.

"That's why she said her back hurts" Clark said. "This is tightening it up" she said explaining to them.

"You need to stay very still for me now, okay?" Doctor Clark told Bella who nodded as tears kept streaming down her face. The doctor got a cotton ball and cleaned around the three big blisters on the girl's lower back. Bella flinched but managed to stay still.

"Bella you have a little blister here on your back. And we gotta drain it okay?" The Doctor said and Bella just looked at Derek.

"You know what that is?" The doctor asked and Isabella nodded yes.

"Can I do that?" She asked and Bella nodded.

"But is it gonna hurt?" She asked scared.

"No. Just stay still for me, okay?" Clark said.

"Okay" Bella said.

The doctor drained the first one and almost at the end Bella cried harder and said it was hurting.

"It's almost done" Clark said and quickly finished. "Stay still" she said and went for the other two. Bella silently cried and stayed still.

"You are so tough kid" The doctor said impressed with the girl. "Just cleaning now, alright?" She said and got the cotton ball with the medicine to clean as she had done before.

She touched Isabella's back and the girl screamed "ahhhh Au stoooop" as the doctor kept cleaning it. She started moving and nurse Cadee held her hip down.

"Stop it. It hurts" she cried.

"Just cream now" The doctor said trying to do everything really fast as Isabella kept crying and begging them to stop.

"All done" Clark said getting the bandages to put it on.

"You did so good honey" Garcia said as the doctor put the bandages on Bella.

"She'll need anti-inflammatory now because of the blisters, alright?" Clark said as she picked up an syringe she had brought in too. She knew that could happen so she got one just in case. Cadee started preparing it and Bella saw.

"I need a shot?" Bella asked crying. "No I don't want another shot. No!" she cried.

"It's gonna be alright" Derek said holding her.

"No" she cried.

Dr. Clark pulled her underwear a bit down to show a bit of her bum.

"No. Not on my bum. No! Please" Isabella cried but Clark did it anyways.

"Aaahhuu Au" she cried and screamed as she felt it sting badly.

"It's all done. You did an incredible job" Clark said.

"Au" Bella whispered as it was still hurting and hid her face on Derek.

"Let her rest a little" doctor Clark said and walked out with the nurses.

"It's over princess" Derek told her as she just kept crying.

Penelope wiped a couple tears that had fell and sat on a chair. Isabella just cried herself to sleep in about 6 minutes.

"She's out" Derek said noticing the girl was asleep.

"Are you okay?" He asked Penelope who nodded yes.

"Baby girl" He said. "Don't play tough. I was almost crying too" he admitted. The truth was that the girl's screams just broke their hearts.

"I can't stand seeing her like this... in this much pain" She said as tears jumped from her eyes.

"She's going to be okay" Derek said.

Penelope walked over to him and he held her hand.

They just stayed there with Bella till the doctor got back.

"She's asleep?" Clark asked.

"Yeah" Morgan said.

"She's really tough. I've seen grown man cry way more because of this" Clark said.

Derek nodded.

"Here. She'll need to take this anti-inflammatory for two weeks." She explained getting the medicine out of a pink bag. "This one is for the pain and its every 12 hours. She'll get really sleepy in the first few hours so it might help with her sleeping too." She said taking another medicine out. "Bandage change every two days and if you do it at home and there are blisters you're gonna have to take her to a hospital to get it drained but it's very likely there won't be any" Clark said.

"Okay. Thank you" Derek said.

"Best wishes for her" the doctor said.

She saw Derek needed help so she held Bella as Derek got out of the exam table. The man picked the girl up and Garcia carried her clothes.

"Goodbye" Penelope said and they walked out.

Hotch met them at the hospital's entrance.

"How is she?" He asked.

"Asleep" Derek said.

"It was awful" Penelope said as her eyes filled with tears again.

"We'll leave in about an hour" Hotch said.

"We'll take her back to the hotel and then we'll meet you on the jet" Derek said.

"Okay" Hotch said and they walked out to get a taxi.

They got inside one and Bella stayed on Derek's arms. She moved a little but didn't wake up.

Derek told the taxi driver where to go and the man started the car.

"Let's eat when we get there. You heard the doctor, She needs to eat" Derek said.

"We could get her some ice cream at that shop next to the hotel" Garcia said.

"Ice cream? She needs food" Derek said.

"Derek you know her. She won't eat. Ice cream has milk at least it's something and she likes it" Garcia said.

Derek nodded understanding. "We need to get her dressed then" he said looking down at the shirtless girl in his arms only being covered by the coat Penelope threw over her.

"We do it when we get there. Let her sleep" Garcia said.

After a while the taxi stopped at the hotel.

"Keep it going, we'll just dress her up" Derek told the man.

"Hey. Bellie. Wake up" Penelope said. The girl moved a little. "Bella wake up baby" Garcia said and the girl jumped awake.

"Hey it's okay. It's Me. It's aunt penny." Garcia said calming the girl down. "Hi" she smiled. "You need to put your shirt on" Garcia said.

Bella stayed silent but put the pajama top on with Penelope's help. Her bum was still hurting a little and her back too.

"Put the coat on too" Derek said and she put it on.

Penelope got out of the car and Derek followed with Bella in his arms. Garcia paid for the taxi and they went to the ice cream shop.

"Do you want chocolate?" Garcia asked as they walked in and Bella shook her head no.

"Baby girl you have to eat and I know you like ice cream" Derek said looking at her.

"My back hurts" Bella said.

"So eat a little bit so we can give you the pain medicine" Garcia said.

"Chocolate then" Bella whispered and rested her head on Derek's shoulder.

They ordered and went to sit. Derek put Bella down on the chair and sat right next to her. They started eating the ice cream.

Bella's back was hurting and it hurt to sit down on that chair. She stood up almost crying and Derek pulled her to him and she sat on his lap.

"Here try mine. It's cherry" Penelope said holding the spoon. Bella opened her mouth and tried it. "Do you like it?" Garcia asked and the girl nodded yes.

"Alright so eat a little bit of yours" Derek said handing Bella her ice cream.

She ate it and impressively she didn't feel sick like she used to when something bad happened. She didn't really feel like eating anything but she did and she was fine with it.

They finished the ice cream and Garcia looked at the time.

"We need to get our things and go meet everyone" Penelope said.

"Why?" Bella asked.

"We're going back to DC" Derek said with a small smile.

They went to the hotel, Garcia gave Bella her pain medicine and they got their things while Bella laid on the bed.

"All ready?" Derek asked.

"Yup" Garcia said holding her go bag and her computer.

Suddenly Derek looked at the bed and saw Bella had fallen asleep. "Can you carry this? I got a little one to carry" he said and Garcia looked at the girl too.

Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered the events and what a long rode Bella had ahead of her.

Derek handed his bag to her, walked to the bed and picked Bella up who stayed asleep.

They went to the jet and everyone was worried about how the girl was doing.

"She's as good as she could be" Penelope said.

Derek put Bella down on the bigger seat and sat next to her.

"She looks a bit better" JJ said.

"Yeah" Derek said soothing the girl's hair.

"How's her back?" Rossi asked.

"They changed the bandages today" Derek said.

"And..?" Rossi asked worried.

"It was awful" Garcia said as her eyes filled with tears again.

"She had some blisters but they took care of it." Derek said. "It will heal and she'll be okay" he added.

Rossi held Garcia's hand as she sat next to him.

After a while everyone got in and they flew to DC.

Bella stayed sleeping the entire flight.

Hotch told everyone what would happen in the next few days and he said he'll get an order so Bella could stay at Derek's house with Penelope.

When the plane landed almost everyone on the team took a deep breath, glad to be home. They felt relieved to be back but they didn't look happy at all because someone should have been there with them.

Penelope stared at Bella and wondered what the future held for the girl. Garcia was so scared about taking such big responsibility and looking after Bella with Derek but she knew Emily would want that.

She knew Emily would want Bella to stay with her family.

And that was them.

...


	73. Chapter 73: Dear

…

Derek carried Bella out and as they were walking to the FBI SUV the girl woke up scared. She felt like someone was kidnapping her again. She looked around and only relaxed when she spotted Reid and Penelope walking next to her.

"We're home" Garcia gave her a little smile and Bella rested her head on Derek's shoulder again.

They walked to the car and got in.

"Straight to my house?" Derek asked Bella. The little girl nodded and Hotch started driving.

Bella didn't want to go to the apartment.

At least not yet.

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"Morgan?" Reid asked as Derek was about to get out of the car.

"Yes kid" Derek said and looked at him.

"Could I stay for a while?" Reid asked a little uncomfortable.

"Of course" Derek said and stepped out. He carried Bella inside as Penelope and Reid followed close behind.

"Pen, you can stay in the guest bedroom with her." Morgan said. "Then we'll figure it out" he said.

"Okay" Penelope said.

Morgan took Isabella to the living room. Reid followed him as Penelope took her bag and her computer to the guest bedroom. Then she walked to the living room to find Bella asleep again. She walked to Derek and said "Can I use your car to go buy some things? There's really nothing here for a child"

"Of course. The key is above he fridge" Morgan said.

"Can I go with you?" Reid asked.

"Sure" Garcia said walking to the kitchen.

They got the key and went to the car, leaving Derek home alone with Bella, who stayed asleep till they got back.

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"What do you want to buy?" Reid asked Garcia as she parked the car.

"Just some things she likes to eat and maybe a few toys or books to distract her a little." Penelope said.

"You think she won't go home any time soon?" Reid asked.

"With Bella you never know. But I think she needs a little time right now. We can't rush her" Penelope said and they got out of the car.

"Maybe we could stop to get her blanket" Reid said.

"Good idea, genius" Penelope smiled and they walked in.

They walked around the place and Penelope got some food, and little snacks and candy she knew Bella liked to eat. She also got a book Reid said Bella didn't have, two puzzles, a big comfy dark purple throw, a few outfits for the girl and a pink bear with colorful polka dots on it. They paid and headed to the BAU.

Penelope and Reid walked in and everyone was telling them how sorry they were for Emily's death. They both felt awful.

"Let's just get the blanket and go" Reid said.

They went to her office. She unlocked a drawer, got the blanket and they left.

"Tooth brush" Penelope remembered as they got to the car.

"Stop at a pharmacy" Reid said. Penelope drove for a while and they stopped. She got Bella a tooth brush and they went to the car.

As she was about to start the car, her phone rang.

She picked it up and it was Hilary.

"Oh God, it's Hilary" she said scared to answer when she saw.

"You have to answer" Reid said and she answered.

"Hello" Garcia said trying to sound calm.

"Penelope it's Hilary. Hi...ummm. It's just that I... " The woman tried talking but it was hard. She took a deep breath and went on. "A lady that works with me mentioned her husband is at home today because a lady at his work was kidnapped with her daughter and passed away. He works for the FBI and I couldn't stop thinking about you guys. I texted Chloe and she said Bella wasn't at school so I started calling Emily's house and no one picked up. Then I called the office and her phone and nothing. Is she...? Is she? Did something happen?" Hilary said crying.

"Yes" was all Garcia said.

"Oh my god" Hilary breathed. "No" she whispered and started crying more. "What happened to Bella?" Hilary asked so scared of the answer.

"She's alright. She's at Derek's house" Penelope said.

"Oh thank god" Hilary breathed out relived.

"She hurt her back but she'll be okay" Penelope said.

"Okay" Hilary said still crying. They stayed silent for a while and then Hilary asked "Do you know when the funeral is going to be?"

Garcia took a deep breath trying to calm herself down as many tears streamed down her face.

"Tomorrow. I... I don't know the time yet. Hotch is taking care of it. He'll probably call you later" she said.

"Okay. We'll be there" Hilary said. "Send hugs for Bella" she added.

"I will" Penelope said and hung up.

Penelope wiped her face and they headed to Derek's house.

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"How is she?" Penelope asked as they got in holding all the bags.

"Still sleeping" Derek said soothing the little girl's hair.

"That's good" Penelope said walking to the kitchen. Reid helped her full a small cabinet with things just for Bella. Then they sat with Derek in the living room. They watched tv for a while and then Penelope asked if they wanted to eat something.

"Yes" Morgan said.

"Reid?" She asked.

"No thanks" Spencer said.

"Hey! if I make a chicken sandwich will you eat?" Garcia asked.

"Sure" Spencer gave up. He knew Penelope wouldn't let go.

"So come help me" the woman said and they went to the kitchen. Derek stayed in the living room with Bella for a while but Garcia and Reid were taking a long time so he went to check on them.

"Everything okay here?" He asked.

"Yeah. We're almost done" Penelope said.

Suddenly Isabella walked in rubbing the back of her hands on her eyes.

"Hey. You woke up" Garcia gave her a little smile. The girl walked to Morgan and he wrapped her in his arms.

"I'm hungry" Bella whispered.

"You are?" Garcia asked surprised. "What do you think want?" She asked. "Here come look" Penelope said and Bella walked to her. The woman opened the cabinet. "We got you a few things and they're all here. So what do you want?" Penelope asked as Bella's eyes wondered.

"Can I have a sandwich like you?" Bella asked looking at the sandwiches on the table.

"Of course you can" Garcia smiled happy the girl wanted to eat.

"Here you go." She said handing a plate to Bella. Derek grabbed one too and they sat in the living room to eat.

Bella was okay till someone honked close to the house. The girl jumped scared.

"It's a car. It's okay. It's not here" Morgan said.

Bella put the plate down, with a little less than half to her sandwich on it, and hugged Derek as tears streamed down her face.

"It's okay baby girl. You just got scared. It's alright" Morgan said as Bella cried.

Penelope walked to the kitchen and ran back with the bear and the girl's blanket.

"Hey look what we got you" Penelope said handing the bear to Derek.

Bella hugged it.

"And this too" Garcia said and gave the girl the blanket.

Bella grabbed it and held it tight. She took it to her face and started sobbing.

"I thought it would help" Garcia said feeling bad.

"Let her cry" Morgan said pulling Bella to his lap.

She laid there are took a long time to calm down. But eventually she did.

"Are you okay?" Morgan asked her.

She shook her head no.

He gave her an understanding face and said "you will be".

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Hotch went to the BAU to finish what he had to, involving Emily's fake death. As he walked in he stopped by her desk and checked her drawers. He froze when he found an envelope addressed to him.

He got it and went to his office. He closed the door, sat on his chair and opened it.

Inside he found a letter address to him, one addressed to Bella and two keys.

He opened his letter and started reading it.

 _"Dear Aaron,_

 _If you're read this is because I'm gone. And for that I am sorry._

 _I don't expect you to understand my actions but I felt like I would own an explanation._

 _I know what Doyle's capable of. I know what he can do and I cannot let him get near Bella. She's a child, she didn't ask to be involved in any of this. In any of our work. My work._

 _I decided to go after Doyle before he gets to us. To our family. I can't let him hurt anyone else._

 _If you're reading this it means I'm gone._

 _Hopefully Isabella will be home right now. Safe._

 _I feel horrible for leaving my little girl again but I know she'll be okay. I know she'll still have a family even though I'm not there._

 _If something did happen to me I'd like to ask you to please make sure she's okay. Make sure she has everything she can possibly need. Make sure she stays with the people she loves._

 _On the envelope I left a letter for Bella, please make sure she gets it. Also a key to my apartment and the safe._

 _I'm very sorry for everything._

 _Love, Emily."_

Hotch put the letter down. He looked at the letter Emily had addressed to Bella and he knew he had to give it to the girl. He knew how hard it must have been for Emily to step out again and let her daughter have a better chance.

He called Jeremy, Isabella's brother, and explained what happened. He told him Emily had died trying to protect Isabella and she had left a letter saying Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia should be the girl's legal guardians and that since Doyle was still out there they had to keep Isabella safe. Jeremy understood and said he would fly to DC.

"Jeremy, please don't try anything. She's already been through so much" Hotch said.

"I won't. I swear" he said. Hotch told him about the funeral then hung up. He worked hard that day and got a judge to sign saying that Derek and Penelope would stay as Isabella's legal guardians.

Later at night he stopped at Derek's house.

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Morgan, Penelope, Reid and Bella spent the day in the living room.

The girl barely said a word all day. She was in and out of sleep for a while and then she agreed on playing chess with Reid. She lost twice and then they sat to put a puzzle together. Everywhere Bella went she took her blanket with her and she was always looking to see if Morgan was around. Penelope made Mac and Cheese and they ate dinner around 7:30. Then they sat again to watch tv.

Hotch knocked on the door at exactly 7:46pm.

"I'll get it" Morgan said and went to the door.

"Hey Hotch" he said when he opened. "Come on in" he said and Hotch walked in.

"I brought the papers. Penelope and you are her legal guardians now" Hotch said.

Derek nodded.

"Thank you" Morgan said.

"I talked to her brother and explained the situation. He agreed on her staying here but he's coming to see her" Hotch said.

"Are you sure he won't try that again?" Morgan said.

"He won't. And even if he did he wouldn't win after last time" Hotch said.

"So we don't have to worry about that?" Morgan asked.

"No" Hotch said.

Morgan nodded.

"Well, Emily left this for Bella" Hotch said handing out a letter with Bella written on the back.

"She left a letter?" Morgan said.

"Yes. She left this one addressed to me" Hotch said and handed his letter too. "I think you should read it" he said.

"I will" Derek said.

"Has she talked about what happened?" Hotch asked.

"No. She's not talking much" Derek said.

"Well she's a Prentiss after all" Hotch said.

Morgan smiled a little "yeah" he said.

"The judge ordered that you take her to a child psychologist at least once a week for 5 weeks" Hotch said. Morgan's face showed Hotch exactly what he expected. Both new that wouldn't go well with the girl. "You have to take her." Hotch said.

"I will" Morgan said.

"Emily left a key of her apartment and the safe." Hotch handed it to Morgan who put it on his pocket.

Suddenly Hotch noticed the girl on the door. Luckily Bella had just got there and didn't hear them talking.

"Hi" Hotch said and Derek turned around to face the girl.

"Come here" Morgan said handing out a hand. Bella walked to him and he threw his arm over her shoulder. "We need to talk" he said and Bella just stayed quiet.

"Why don't we seat?" Hotch asked.

They walked to the living room.

"Hi Hotch" Garcia said.

Derek sat on the couch next to Garcia and Bella sat on his lap. Hotch sat on the other couch and faced them.

"Bella I came here because there's a few things you need to know" Hotch said and the girl just stared. Derek held her hand and gave it a squeeze reminding her that he was right there.

"I talked to a judge today and he gave me these papers" Hotch said and handed it to Derek. "That means that Penelope and Derek are your legal guardians now" he explained and Bella just stared at the papers. "The judge also said that you need to talk to someone for a little while" Hotch said and again Bella just stared.

Hotch looked at Morgan and Garcia whose faces told him that was what Bella was doing all day.

"Your mom left you a letter" Hotch said and Derek handed it to her. Bella held it and her eyes filled with tears.

"You don't have to read it now princess" Morgan said.

"You can read when you're ready" Hotch said and Bella nodded as a few tears fell. Penelope was already crying too. Bella looked at the woman and she need her embrace. She gave the letter to Morgan and ran to Garcia and just cried as Penelope hugged her.

Hotch looked at Morgan and Reid feeling sorry. "I think I should go" Hotch said and Morgan nodded.

"Let's go to bed, pumpkin" Garcia said and they walked to the guest bedroom. They laid together on the bed and Bella just kept crying. "I'm right here with you bunny" Garcia said hugging the girl.

In the living room Hotch told Derek about a psychologist he had taken Jack and Derek said he would look into it. Then Morgan walked him to the door while Reid took Isabella's blanket to her.

"Here" Reid said walking in. Bella looked up and grabbed it from him. She took it to her face and laid down again hiding on Garcia's stomach.

"I'll be in the living room" Reid said and walked out. He found Morgan walking back.

"How's she?" Derek asked.

"Crying" Reid said and started crying too. Morgan hugged him.

"You can stay the night if you'd like" Morgan said.

"Yes I would" Spencer said.

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Later Bella calmed down. Penelope saw it was time for the girl's pain medicine so she gave it to her. A short time later the child ended up falling asleep. Penelope went to the living room to find Morgan helping Reid make a bed in the couch.

"You're staying?" Garcia asked. Reid nodded. "Good" Penelope said with a small smile.

"Where's she?" Morgan asked.

"She fell asleep" Garcia said.

They finished the bed and decided to go to sleep. They knew the next day would be hard for everyone.

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Isabella jumped awake screaming at 3:45am. She was sweating and tears were rolling down her face. Penelope sat on the bed and just wrapped the girl in her arms as she started to cry too. She couldn't stand seeing Bella so hurt.

Morgan and Reid ran to the room.

"What happened?" Morgan asked but when he saw the two crying he just knew. He walked to the bed and hugged both.

"It's okay. It's gonna be okay" he told them. Reid just stared from the door not sure of what to do.

Isabella let go of Penelope and wrapped her arms around Derek. Reid went back to the living room as tears started to stream down his face. Morgan, Garcia and Bella stayed hugging for a while then Derek told them to lay down. They did that and he laid next to them, Bella right in the middle. She hugged her blanket and just kept crying as Morgan soothed her hair.

"I want my doggie" Bella cried.

"Tramp?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah" Bella cried.

"I'll go get it for you" Morgan said.

"No!" Bella held his shirt.

"It's okay I'll be quick" Derek said.

"No! Don't leave!" Bella said.

"Do you wanna go with me?" Morgan asked.

Bella took some time to think and then nodded yes.

"Are you sure?" Garcia asked worried the girl wasn't ready to go there.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Okay then. Let's go" Derek said sitting up. He picked Bella up. The girl rested on his shoulder holding her blanket tight.

"We won't be long" Morgan told Garcia.

"Anything just call me" she said and Derek walked out of the room.

Reid walked back in and sat on the bed with Penelope. Garcia looked at him and just held his hand.

 **.**

Derek put Bella on the passenger's seat and drove to Emily's building. The girl had tears streaming down her face all the way there. When they got to the building, Morgan carried Bella inside since the girl didn't have shoes on.

He put her down in front of the apartment door.

"Do you know where he is?" He asked her.

"In my room" Bella said almost a whisper.

Morgan opened the door and walked in first. Bella took a deep breath and followed him inside. She slowly walked to her bedroom, squeezing her blanket as tight as she could. When she got upstairs she ran to her room and picked up the plush on the top of her bed and hugged it tight. Morgan walked in and hugged her. She calmed a bit down.

"Why don't we pack you some clothes?" Morgan said and she just stared. "I'll do it" he said.

Bella sat on the bed. She picked up Duffy and hugged him too together with Tramp and her blanket as the tears kept falling. Derek hurried and put a few clothes on a bag. He got Isabella's red rain boots and put it on the bag too.

"Let's go?" He asked her.

Isabella got off the bed and ran to him and just sobbed. He lifted her up and carried her out. He placed her on the passenger's seat and then put the bag on the back and drove home. When they got there Bella had cried herself to sleep. He took her inside and found Reid asleep on the couch. He went to the guest bedroom and put Isabella back on the bed. The girl was still holding tightly to her things.

"How was it?" Penelope asked.

"As expected" Morgan said pushing hair away from the girl's face.

Penelope covered the child up and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"We should sleep" she told Derek and he nodded.

"I got some of her clothes and her boots. You know the red ones she's always wearing." He said.

"Good" Penelope said and gave him a little smile.

"We should sleep" Morgan said.

"Yeah" Penelope smiled.

Morgan left and Penelope laid down.

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The next morning, Garcia woke up to find Derek and Jeremy at the door staring at Bella.

"Hi" she whispered and got out of bed.

They went all outside to the kitchen and Garcia hugged Jeremy.

"How is she?" He asked.

"She's tough" Derek said.

"Yeah" Jeremy said and suddenly started crying now. Penelope hugged him and he just cried.

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Isabella woke up that morning and her head was hurting. She scratched her eyes with the back of her hands and sat on the bed. Her back hurt too. She got her blanket, Duffy and Tramp, and went to find Derek.

She went to the living room to find Morgan sitting on the couch and Jeremy and Marley sitting on the other.

"Hi" Jeremy said as he stood up.

Bella dropped her things on the floor and ran to him. He hugged her and they both just cried.

Suddenly Penelope walked in. Reid had left earlier that morning. Garcia put the girl's things on the center table and sat with Morgan while Jeremy sat with Bella on the couch. She just kept hugging him.

"I love you" Jeremy told her.

"I know" Bella said. Then she let go of him and went to Derek.

"Good morning princess" Derek said as Bella sat on his lap and he wiped her face. She didn't say anything. She just rested her head on him and got comfortable.

"Derek it's already 9:40" Garcia said.

"Bella you gotta get ready for the funeral, honey" Garcia said feeling bad.

Bella just stared.

"Come with me. I'll help you get in the shower" Penelope said and Bella shook her head no.

"Hey your back won't get wet" Jeremy said.

"It won't?" Bella asked.

"No. The bandage is waterproof." Jeremy said and she just stared. "I promise" Jeremy said.

Bella looked at Penelope who signed for the girl to come to her. Isabella got up and went. Penelope threw one arm around her and they went to the guest bedroom.

"Do you know if Derek packed you something black?" Garcia asked going through the clothes and the girl nodded looking really sad. Penelope stopped and sat next to her. Bella hugged her and cried.

"I just want her to hold me again" Bella said. Her little voice broke Penelope's hear.

"I know pumpkin. I know" she said crying too and hugging the girl.

They stayed like that for a little while and then Penelope said "alright" and wiped her face. "Come. We need to get ready" she said standing up. She got Bella's hand and they went to the bathroom. The girl showered and put black leggings and a white shirt on. Then they went to the bedroom. Jeremy was waiting there. Penelope saw the girl looked cold so she got the navy coat Reid had bought. She helped Bella put it on and Bella laid down on the bed.

"Hey we gotta do your hair, monkey" Garcia said.

Bella shook her head no and stayed laying down. Garcia gave her a little smile and went to get the girl's shoes.

"Penny" Bella said. Garcia quickly paid attention. "My back hurts" the girl said as tears filled her eyes.

"You'll have your medicine soon bunny" Garcia said.

"It hurts really bad" she said and started crying as she moved closer to Jeremy.

"Can she have it now?" Garcia asked feeling bad.

"Yeah" Jeremy said soothing the child's hair. "Let's go get it" Jeremy told Penelope making a face saying they had to talk. So both walked out of the room and went to the kitchen where the medicine was.

"She's not in that much pain. Not taking what she's taking" Jeremy said.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked walking in.

"Bella wants the pain medicine. She said her back hurts really bad" Garcia said.

"She just doesn't wanna go" Derek said just knowing.

"Yeah" Jeremy said.

"But what will happen if she takes the medicine?" Garcia asked.

"She'll probably sleep" Jeremy said.

"And you think that's a good idea? It's her mother's funeral" Marley said.

"You remember what happened with my dad's. She does not need to go through that again." Jeremy said.

"I agree" Morgan said. Jeremy gave him a nod. "I'll talk to her" Derek said, got the medicine and went to the bedroom. Jeremy followed him.

"Hey" Derek said as he walked inside the bedroom. Bella just stared at him from the bed. He walked and sat in front of her and touched her leg. "Your back is hurting?" He asked and she nodded yes. Jeremy walked in and sat at the end of the bed.

"Your back is hurting or you just don't wanna go?" Jeremy asked.

Bella just cried.

"Come here" Morgan said and she went to his arms. He hugged her. "You can take the medicine but you don't have to lie, Bella." He said and she hid her face embarrassed. "Here, you wanna try to sleep?" Derek said handing her the medicine. She nodded yes. He poured some of it and she drank. "Go on lay down for a while" he said and Bella laid on the bed. "I'll come get you soon" he added.

"I'll stay" Jeremy said getting closer to the girl as Derek walked to the door.

"Don't wake me up" Bella whispered and hid her face on her blanket. She soon fell asleep.

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"We should go." Marley said checking the clock on the wall.

"I'll get them" Morgan said and walked to the bedroom while Penelope and Marley went to the car.

"She's out" Jeremy said as Derek walked in.

"That's good" Derek said. He picked Bella up. She moved a little and opened her eyes. "It's okay princess, you can sleep" he told her and she closed her eyes again.

Jeremy got her boots and they went to the car. Inside Bella sat on the back with Garcia and Marley. She rested her head on Penelope's lap, while Derek drove. When they got to the cemetery, Derek put Bella's boots on her and Jeremy picked her up. She stayed sleeping.

Derek helped carry the coffin and then went to where Jeremy was. Bella moved a little and he picked her up.

Derek sat on a chair and Bella stayed asleep on his lap.

And she slept through the entire thing.

Derek looked around at all the people that showed up. He wished Bella could see how many people loved and respected her mother. But he let her sleep through it all.

"Cover her ears" JJ told Derek as the man prepared to shot. Derek covered Isabella's right ear with his hand but the girl heard and woke up anyways. Her eyes shot open and she was scared so she closed them again really tight and grabbed Derek's suit.

"It's okay. I'm right. Uncle Derek is here" Derek told her and she relaxed. "You're safe." He said.

The priest finished talking and they went to the car. Bella was awake but kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to talk to anyone. They went to the car and Bella her head laid on Penelope's lap. When they got to Rossi's house the girl was asleep again.

"You can put her in a guest bedroom" Rossi said and Morgan took the girl upstairs to a bedroom. He put her down on the bed, covered her up and laid next to her.

After a while Jeremy walked in.

"Hey, go stay with your friends. I'll watch her" Jeremy said.

"No. It's okay" Derek said staring at the sleeping girl.

"Derek if she wakes up I'll get you" Jeremy said.

Morgan stared at him and saw he wouldn't take a no, so he went.

"Anything just go get me" he said and walked out. Jeremy sat next to Bella and just watched over her while she slept.

Derek went out and said hello to everyone. He saw a lot of people from their work including Mazzy's father, who took the girl with him. He saw Derek Shepherd and a few doctors that Emily knew, including Callie and Isabella's godmother Addison. He talked to them and then sat with the team.

"How is she?" JJ asked.

"Asleep still" Derek said.

"No, not now. I mean how IS she?" JJ said.

Derek took some time to think and said "broken... All over again"

JJ just gave him a nod. She felt horrible for lying.

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Isabella woke up to find her brother staring at her. She looked around the room and recognized it was Rossi's house.

"Where's Morgan?" Bella asked whispering.

"He's just outside" Jeremy said. The girl got out of bed and started walking out. Jeremy went and grabbed her hand. Bella walked downstairs and people started looking at her. She panicked and hugged Jeremy, asking to be picked up. He lifted her up and carried her to where the team was sitting, at a table outside.

"Hi princess" Derek said as he saw them. He got up and picked Bella. He sat back down and the girl hid her face on his chest. She was crying.

No one said anything.

Bella just sat there for a while and then whispered to Derek that she wanted to go.

"Okay, we can go now" Morgan told her. He looked at Penelope.

"Yeah we should go" the woman said.

"I'll stop by later" Jeremy said.

They said goodbye and left, not stopping to talk to anybody else.

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Isabella had tears streaming down her face all the way to Derek's house.

When they got there Penelope asked if she wanted to eat. The girl nodded no so they went to the living room. Derek sat down and Bella sat right next to him and rested her head on his arm. He grabbed her hand.

"We are right here with you" Derek said. Bella hugged him and just cried.

"I just want her to hold me" Bella said desperately wishing to be wrapped in her mother's arms, like Emily used to do.

Penelope couldn't hold her tears in as she heard the girl say that again. She sat next to them and they stayed there quiet till Bella calmed down.

The girl stopped crying and after a while she said "I want to read the letter"


	74. Chapter 74: Small And Determined

…

The girl stopped crying and after a while she said "I want to read the letter"

Derek looked at Penelope unsure.

"Are you sure, honey?" Garcia asked.

"Yes" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears again.

"It's on the table" Derek said and Penelope went to get it.

She got back and handed it to Bella. Derek pulled Bella to his lap and she opened it.

.

 _"Dear Bella,_

 _If you're reading this letter... I am so sorry this happened._

 _I learned that Doyle had escaped prison a while ago and I told myself a millions times he wouldn't find me, he wouldn't find us. The day you saw me sitting in front of the door was because of this. I was trying to protect you. I just knew he was coming, no matter how many times I tried believing he wasn't. Later he sent me something at the BAU and I knew. I knew that he would try to kill me. And darling I had to protect you. So I'm leaving. I'm leaving you because I have to find him and end this before he finds us or hurt anyone else. If you got this letter you know the outcome. I really hope you'll never have to read this. I'm sorry if you are. But I'd rather know you're safe._

 _And baby don't you ever think you're alone now, because you are not._

 _If you ever need someone to brighten your day, Penelope will be right there with you. If you need help with anything no matter how crazy and embarrassing you think it is, Morgan will be there. If you need a motherly hug, go to JJ. If you need someone to teach you anything, Reid will be there. Rossi has such wisdom that I hope some of it will glue on you someday. Hotch will always know the right thing to do, so you can trust him with anything._

 _They are your family, baby._

 _They love you._

 _And I know that they'll protect you and love you and be there for you no matter what._

 _And know that what I did was to protect you and them. To protect our family. Because I couldn't live if something happened to any of them or you._

 _And please know that I love you._

 _Mommy loves you more than anything. You are and will always be everything to me. No matter where I am. I will always love you. Always._

 _And I am sorry._

 _Love, mom"_

 **.**

"She left?" Bella asked Derek as many tears fell on her cheeks. "I thought they kidnapped her" she said.

"She went after him and got ambushed in Boston. She fell into a trap" Morgan explained. He had read the letter too while Bella was reading it and he was trying hard not to cry.

"She left me another time? She promised she wouldn't" Bella said and just sobbed.

Derek wrapped her in his arms tightly till she calmed down.

"I wanna go to bed" Bella whispered after some time.

"Bella do you know what time it is?" Garcia asked. Bella just looked at her and Garcia felt bad. "Come on" Penelope said handing out a hand. Bella went with her to the bedroom and laid down. She felt exhausted and just sad. She laid on the bed and Garcia sat next to her. Penelope stayed there till Bella was asleep.

Later Penelope went back to the living room to find Jeremy, Marley, JJ, Morgan and Isabella's godfather, Shepherd, and godmother, Addison, sitting there talking.

"How is she?" Jeremy asked.

"She fell asleep" Penelope said and took a seat on the couch.

They had all read both letters, Hotch's and Bella's.

"We should let her sleep" Addison said.

"Can we stop by later to check on her?" Shepherd asked.

"Of course" Derek Morgan said and walked them to the door.

"Pen, if you need anything... Just call me" JJ said. She knew that taking care of a little human was hard.

Penelope gave her a small smile and nodded yes.

"I'm gonna check on her" Jeremy said.

"I should go check on my little one too" JJ said. She said goodbye to everyone and left. As she sat on her car her phone rang.

"Hello?" JJ said.

"Hi" Hotch said. "She woke up" he said.

"Oh she did?" JJ asked in shock.

"Yes. You need to go talk to her. They called me and she's arguing with the doctors and she keeps saying she needs to see her daughter" Hotch said.

"Tell them I'm on my way." JJ said and hung up. She drove to the airport and got on a plane to Boston.

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"Hello, I'm Jennifer Jareau" she said handing her FBI badge to the front desk nurse.

"Follow me" the woman said and they walked.

"She has been sedated but should wake up in about 20 minutes" the nurse said.

JJ walked in and breathed out as she saw less tubes and wires on Emily. She took a seat next to the bed and waited.

In DC, Bella was fast asleep.

 **.**

About half an hour later, Emily opened her eyes to find JJ staring at her.

"J?" She mumbled.

"Hi. It's me. I'm right here" JJ said holding her hand.

Emily blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Where's Bella?" She asked and stared at JJ.

"She's okay. She's with Morgan and Penelope" JJ said and Emily breathed out as she felt the lump on her throat go away.

"I need to see her" Emily said, her eyes filling with tears as she remembered what Doyle did to the little girl.

"Emily we need to talk" JJ said.

Emily stared at her and by the look on JJ's face she knew it was serious.

"What is it?" She demanded.

"Hotch made a decision when they finished your surgery" JJ started and Emily just stared and listened. "Doyle escaped and Hotch knew he would come back for you so he did something to protect you" JJ said.

"What did he do?" Emily asked.

"He faked your death" JJ said.

"What?" Emily breathed.

"I'm so sorry but we have to protect you. Who knows what Doyle will do if he finds out you're alive. Who knows what he will do to Bella" JJ said.

"Does she know I'm okay?" Emily asked. "Does Bella know?" She asked.

"No" JJ said.

"What? No!" Emily said crying. She sat up and ripped her IV off. "I need to leave" she said. She was feeling a lot of pain but she didn't care.

"No! Emily! Please calm down" JJ said trying to push her back down.

Emily ripped the oxygen off and suddenly three nurses walked in.

"Calm down. You have stitches... It's alright. You're safe in here" one of the nurses said and they held her as she fought them off. She was in a lot of pain but she needed to get to Bella. She felt a poke on her arm and then she felt it burning. Suddenly her eyes got heavy and she was out. The nurses left and JJ just sat there crying.

 **.**

About an hour later Emily woke up again.

"You can't do that to her" Emily said calmer now.

"There's no other way Emily." JJ said. "Hotch will move you to a safe location and you'll come back when we get Doyle. We won't stop till we find him. I promise"

"She can't go through all of that again. She just lost her father" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears. "She needs me"

"And that's why we're doing this" JJ said. "She needs you alive. Emily, you know what he's capable of. You know that he'll come back for you"

Emily just listened.

"Isabella will be okay. She's with Derek and Penelope and they're taking good care of her" JJ said. "She's going to be alright"

"She needs her mother" Emily said crying. JJ sat on the bed and held her hand.

"And she will get you back soon. We need to do this. I'm so sorry" JJ said.

Emily gave her a nod and turned her face to the side. She closed her eyes as she felt a bit heavy again. All the medicines were making her so tired. It wasn't long till she fell asleep.

JJ breathed out relieved Emily was calmer and more understanding now. She sat on the chair next to the bed and called Hotch. She told him how it went and said she would stay with Emily for the day.

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In DC, Isabella woke up at 3:30pm. She went to the living room and sat next to Morgan to watch tv. After a while Jeremy asked if she wanted to finish the puzzle that was half done on the center table. She sat with him on the floor and they started doing that.

"Bella are you hungry?" Garcia asked her and impressively the girl nodded yes. Penelope smiled happy that Bella had an appetite still and headed to the kitchen.

A little later she walked back with Mac and cheese. Bella ate and then finished the puzzle.

"Wow that looks cool" Marley told them.

Bella just stared at the puzzle with a blank face.

"How about a shower now?" Penelope asked. She was trying to keep Bella occupied. The girl nodded and they went to the bedroom, got Isabella some clothes and she went to shower.

In the living room Derek stood up to answer the door.

"Come on in" he said as he saw Hilary with Chloe standing there.

"Hi. It's just that Chloe is really worried about Bella and I promised we would stop by" Hilary said.

"She's taking a shower right now. You can wait in the living room with us" Morgan said. He went and hugged Chloe. The girl started crying. He looked at Hilary with a sad face. Suddenly Jeremy appeared on the door.

"Hi" he said and went to talk to Hilary. So they said hello and went to the living room. Morgan told them how Bella was doing and they just chatted for some time.

Once Bella was done and dressed she sat on the bed and took Duffy's outfit out.

Suddenly Derek appeared at the door.

"You have a visitor" he said and Chloe walked in.

Bella's eyes immediately filled with tears so did Chloe's. Chloe ran to her friend and they hugged and just cried.

The grownups left the room.

After a while Chloe let go of the hug and said "I'm so sorry Bella"

"I know" Bella said.

They just stared at each other crying.

"Can you stay here with me? Just tonight?" Bella asked.

"Sure, I think my mom won't mind" Chloe said.

Bella got under the covers and Chloe laid next to her and grabbed her hand.

"It's gonna be okay" Chloe said.

"No it won't" Bella said crying.

"I promise you it will" Chloe said looking very sure of it. Bella just kept crying.

"My mom said you got hurt too" Chloe said trying not to look so worried.

"Yeah. My back" Bella said.

"Are you in much pain?" Chloe asked.

"No" Bella said. Chloe looked at her and she could see her friend was in pain but it was not because of her back. She wrapped Bella in a hug and they just silently cried.

 **.**

A while later Derek and Hilary went to check on them and found both girls asleep.

They went back to the living room and told everyone.

"Can Chloe stay the night? Maybe that will be good for them" Morgan said.

"Are you sure it won't be a problem? You already have Bella to take care of." Hilary said.

"No, of course not. It's fine." Morgan said.

"I think they need each other" Garcia said.

"Okay then" Hilary said. "And if you need anything you can call me, alright?" She said and they nodded.

"Really anything" Hilary said.

She left and a while later Jeremy and Marley decided to go to the hotel. So Penelope and Morgan sat on the living room and let the two girls sleep.

They woke them up at 5:30.

"Come on girls" Derek said. "Or you won't sleep at night" he said and they sat up on the bed sleepy.

"Let's eat a snack" Penelope said. The girls got out of bed and followed the woman to the kitchen. Derek went close behind.

"Do you guys want to play monopoly with us?" Penelope asked.

"Okay" Chloe said. Everyone looked at Bella.

"Sure" Bella said not really sounding excited.

Derek smiled glad to see the girl trying. They got some snacks and sat to play the game.

After a while Addison and Derek arrived to see how Bella was doing and the girl was glad to see them. She hadn't seen Addison in a long time and she missed her.

"You look so grown up" Addison smiled giving Bella a hug.

"Do you want to play with us?" Bella asked, her voice way lower than normal.

"Of course" Addison smiled and they all sat on the dining table to play. They had a great time together. Bella was serious most of the time but she liked having them around. Later they had to leave so they said their goodbyes and Isabella held her tears in.

"You'll see them soon. I'll take you to visit them If you want" Derek told her after they left.

The girl gave him a little smile and he wrapped her in his arms.

"The pizza is here!" Penelope yelled.

Derek and Bella sat with Garcia and Chloe to eat while watching tv. After eating it was time for Isabella's medicine. She took it and laid on the couch next to Morgan. It didn't take long for her to sleep.

"She's out" Derek smiled at the sleeping girl next to him. "I'm gonna take her to bed" he said.

"Can I go too? I'm tired" Chloe said.

"Of course" Penelope smiled.

Derek took Bella to bed and Chloe laid next to her friend.

"We need to change her bandages tomorrow" Penelope said as Derek walked back in the living room.

"I think we should take her to the hospital" Morgan said.

"You don't want to do it?" Garcia asked and he said no. So they called her doctor and schedule for 3pm the next day. Penelope really couldn't stand the girl in that much pain and she obviously could not be the one to cause it. Derek felt like it was his obligation to hold Bella and make sure she was okay, instead of hurting her more. So they rather have someone else do it.

It was a little over 10pm when they finished cleaning the place up a little and decided to go to bed.

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It was 12:34 in Boston. JJ was still with Emily, who had given some thought to the situation and was more understanding and agreeing. But she told JJ that Jeremy needed to know.

"Emily, it's too risky" JJ told her.

"It's risky letting him think that I'm dead and Bella only has him. He needs to know JJ. Or else he'll try to take her with him" Emily said.

"I'll talk to Hotch" JJ said understanding.

"Call him now" Emily demanded and JJ did.

Hotch agreed on telling Jeremy and said he would tell the man.

"He said he'll talk to him tomorrow" JJ told Emily.

Emily breathed out relieved. She wanted to make sure things would go as easier as they could for Bella.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Bella was in and out all night. She would wake up and just stare at Chloe sleeping or at the walls until she was out again. Around 5 she woke up and felt like couldn't sleep again. She couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened that day. She couldn't stop thinking about Emily laying on the ground hurt. She walked out of the room and went to the living room in search of a book. She figured that could help. She walked around the place and found one close to the fire place.

"Serial killers. Great" she said in a whisper as she saw what the book was about. Suddenly she saw who wrote it. "Rossi?" She said.

She walked back to the room and started reading the book. Many things in it she didn't quite understand but she found the book interesting. For her luck the scary parts were around the middle and she didn't even make it there. Her sleep finally cached her around 7.

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Derek woke up at 8, made breakfast and sat to eat. Suddenly Penelope walked in.

"Are they still sleeping?" She asked.

"Yes" Derek said. "I made waffles" he said.

"Looks good" Penelope gave him a small smile and say to eat.

Once they were done they sat in the living room.

"Do you think she's doing alright?" Derek asked Penelope. The woman had never seen him so insecure.

"I think so" Garcia said. Derek just nodded. "Really Derek. Look don't worry. She'll be okay. I know what it's like and I'm not gonna lie to you it's horrible. But I made it this far and she will too" Penelope said. "She's the strongest kid I've ever met" Garcia said.

"Yeah" Derek said with a small smile.

Penelope smiled back.

"I think I'm gonna stop by my house to get a few things. Are you okay to stay with them by yourself?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah" Derek said.

"Alright. I won't be long" she said and left.

 **.**

Sometimes later Penelope got back with a suitcase and they just watched tv till the girl's woke up around 9:45.

"Good morning" Chloe told Bella.

"Hi" Bella said.

"Are you in pain?" Chloe asked worried.

"No" Bella said.

Chloe gave her a small smile. "Are you hungry?" Chloe asked.

"Not really" Bella said.

"Hey you can't stop eating again" Chloe said a little worried.

"I know." Bella said. "And my mom wouldn't want that" she added.

"Yeah" Chloe said and they just stared at each other.

"Are you feeling sick again when you eat?" Chloe asked.

"No" Bella said. "I thought I would but I'm not"

"That's good" Chloe smiled. "And if you ever feel like that just tell me. Maybe I can help like last time"

Bella nodded and said "I will".

"You're my best friend you know that?" Chloe said.

"You're mine too" Bella said and gave Chloe a hug.

"I love you" Chloe said.

"I love you too" Bella said low. They hugged for some time and then Chloe said

"We should go eat" .

And to the kitchen they went.

 **.**

"Look who's awake" Derek said as he saw the girl walking to the kitchen.

"Good morning" Chloe said.

"Good morning girls" Penelope said. "Uncle Derek made waffles" she said with a smile.

The girls walked to the table and sat to eat. Penelope and Morgan sat with them. Both adults were impressed that Bella was eating alright. They knew how the girl was and when they took her home they thought they knew how the food battle would go but they were wrong.

"It's really good" Bella said. "I didn't know you could make waffles. Or cook really" she added and everybody laughed. She couldn't help and let out a small smile.

A while after they finished breakfast, Jeremy showed up.

"Did you have a good night?" He asked wrapping Bella in his arms.

"It was okay" Bella said. He let go of the hug and gave her an understanding look.

"How are the babies?" She asked.

"They're good. Getting big" Jeremy smiled and she smiled back. He felt so good seeing a smile on her face. "They'll be out soon so you can play with them" he said.

"I'm not gonna change poopy diapers. Ever!" She said and Jeremy laughed.

"I'll take care of that part. Don't worry" he said.

"Do you want to start the other puzzle?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Jeremy said.

So they sat, together with Chloe and Garcia, to do a new puzzle.

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Around noon, they were still sitting around the center table with the puzzle in front of them, when Hotch called Jeremy.

"I'll be right back" Jeremy said when he saw who it was and walked out. He went and sat on the front porch.

"Hello?" Jeremy said.

"Hi. It's Aaron" Hotch said.

"Is everything okay?" Jeremy asked worried.

"I need to talk to you. It's important. Could you come to the office?" Hotch asked.

"Yes of course" Jeremy said.

"I'll be waiting for you" Hotch said.

"I'm heading there now" Jeremy said. "Bye" he said and hung up. He walked inside and told everyone that he had to stop by the office to talk to Hotch but he would be back.

So to the office he went.

He met Hotch at his office.

"Please sit down" Hotch said and Jeremy sat in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked. He just knew something was up.

"I had to do something in order to protect your sister." Hotch started. "You might not agree with this. But it's the right thing to do right" he said.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy said confused.

"Look I never planned on telling you this now but she insisted I do" Hotch said.

"She... Who?" Jeremy said.

"Emily" Hotch said.

"She's... She's alive?" Jeremy said in shock.

"Yes" Hotch said and Jeremy just stared. "She's stable at a hospital in Boston and we'll be moving her to a safe location once she's cleared to travel." He explained.

"Who else knows about this?" Jeremy asked.

"Just Jennifer and I" Hotch said.

"You can't lie to my sister like this. Don't you see how much pain she's in right now?" Jeremy said.

"Jeremy I know this is hard to understand but we cannot let Doyle know that Emily is okay. If he finds out He'll come back for her and who knows what he will do to your sister. We did this, I did this to protect them. Both of them. And I am so sorry that Isabella has to go through this but there's no other way. We need to make sure both of them are safe" Hotch explained.

"Can't we tell Bella? I'm sure she can lie. It's just not fair" Jeremy said.

"Jeremy she's 11 years old. It's too big of a responsibility for her. And we don't know if he's watching, and if he is he'll know. It's too risky. We cannot risk their safety" Hotch explained.

Jeremy nodded. He understood Hotch. "And how is she? Emily?" Jeremy asked.

"She's stable right now. JJ will keep visiting her and make sure she's okay" Hotch said.

"Did she agree to this?" Jeremy asked.

"Not at first. But she understands now and she knows Derek and Penelope will look after Bella until we have Doyle" Hotch said and Jeremy nodded.

"Look. You cannot tell this to anybody. Not even Marley. This stays between you and me. That's it" Hotch said.

"I won't tell anyone" Jeremy said.

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At Derek's house the girls had finished the puzzle and we're watching Masterchef when Jeremy got back from the office.

"What did Hotch want?" Penelope asked as he walked inside.

"It was just um… Isabella's papers" Jeremy said. "I just had to sign some things" he said.

"Look who's back" Penelope smiled walking inside the living room with Jeremy.

He walked to Bella and gave her a hug. A little tighter than usual.

"I love you" he said.

"I love you too" Bella said and let go of the hug.

"Are you gonna be okay with them?" He asked.

"Yes" Bella said so sure of it. He smiled and said "good" then hugged her again and kissed the top of her head.

"Wow look at that" Penelope said as a beautiful dish appeared at the tv screen.

"That makes me hungry" Jeremy said.

"Well, lunch is ready" Penelope said and they all went to sit around the table. The girls sat while the three grownups took everything to the table. The lunch went great. They were putting the dishes away when Hilary stopped by to get Chloe.

"Hi Bella" Hilary said when she saw the girl. She went and hugged her. Isabella's eyes filled with tears but she didn't cry.

"Can you come back tomorrow?" Bella asked Chloe as Hilary let go of the hug.

Chloe looked at her mom and Hilary said "of course she can"

Bella gave her a little smile and Hilary smiled back. She thought the girl looked way better then she expected.

They said their goodbyes and left.

"Let's watch some tv now?" Jeremy asked and Bella nodded yes. They watched tv till it was time to take Bella to the doctors.

"Bella" Morgan said sitting up straight next to her. Penelope and Jeremy were sitting on the other couch. Bella looked at him.

"Honey, today we have to change the bandages on your back so you won't get sick" Derek said and the girl just looked sad. She knew it would hurt.

"Penelope and I thought it would be best if we take you to see a doctor so they can do it" Derek said.

"No" Bella said and started crying. She couldn't help it.

Derek pulled her to his lap.

"Princess, I'm sorry but you have" he said.

"No, it's gonna hurt" she cried.

"Bella, it won't hurt like last. It's more healed now. I promise you it won't be like last time" Jeremy said.

"No! I don't wanna go" Bella cried.

"I'm sorry princess but you have to" Derek said. He felt really bad.

"No! I'm not going!" Bella cried.

Derek looked at Jeremy and both knew someone would have to carry her and go.

Derek stood up with Bella in his arms. She started crying more and screaming saying she didn't want to go and that she was fine and didn't need to do anything to her back. But Derek just carried her to the car. Penelope and Jeremy went on the back with her while Derek drove. As he drove she calmed down but cried the entire ride. When they got there Derek picked her up and they walked inside and sat to wait.

"Please Uncle Morgan, I don't want to" Bella whispered crying.

"I know princess. I don't want you do have to do it but you do. I'm sorry" he said truly sorry.

"Bunny, you're gonna be okay. We're gonna be right there." Garcia said.

"It's going to hurt really bad" she cried.

"We'll be right the with you" Penelope said not knowing what else to say.

They waited for a while and then got called in. So they went to the doctor's office.

Morgan placed Bella on the exam table and she refused to let go of him.

Doctor Sarah Sullivan, that had taken care of Bella when the girl had pneumonia, walked in.

"Hi sweetheart" she said with a smiled. "I heard there's an aui on your back" she said and Bella just tightened her grip on Morgan.

"So she's here for a bandage change?" The doctor asked Morgan.

"Yes" he said.

"Alright we'll get everything ready and we'll start in a little while" she said and went out.

Bella still had tears streaming down her face. Morgan wiped them and said "it's gonna be okay"

The doctor walked back in with two nurses. From the girl's current state she knew they probably would have to hold her down.

"Alright. Can I take a look on your back princess?" The doctor said and Bella just looked at Morgan.

"Come on lay down. We are right here" he said.

Bella laid down on her tummy.

"Hold my hand tight" Derek told her grabbing her hand.

The doctor took the bandages off and Bella tightened her grip on Derek and flinched a few times.

"It looks better" Derek said when he saw. It wasn't as red as before and there were no blisters.

Jeremy felt his heart race when he saw her back.

"Is there a way to remove that?" Jeremy asked when he saw the clover.

"First it needs to heal and then we can look at the options" the doctor said and he nodded.

"Alright Bella, are you ready?" The doctor asked. "We're just gonna clean it now" she said and Bella squeezed Derek hand.

"I'm right here" He told the girl.

The doctor started from the top and Bella just cried and cried in pain.

"Just cream now" Sullivan said and put it on. She put a new bandage on the top one and moved to the middle of the girl's back. That was the part that hurt the least. Bella just cried because she was scared but that part didn't really hurt.

"Alright last one now" doctor Sullivan said.

When she started cleaning around the clover, Isabella started screaming and moving a lot. The two nurses held her down and the doctor kept going.

"Ahhhh stoooop! Noooo! No" Bella cried and begged as it stung very badly.

"Almost done." The doctor said and went as fast as she could.

It hurt so much that Bella could not control it and ended up peeing.

"Just cream now" a nurse said.

Doctor Sullivan closed it up and said "all done" as Bella just kept sobbing. Derek helped her sit up and the doctor saw what had happened.

"Oh honey" Sullivan said and Bella just cried embarrassed.

"Sweetie, it's okay. It's okay, it happens. It was just an accident" the doctor said feeling bad.

"Come on let's get you clean up" Penelope said. Derek helped her down and the girl took the woman's hand and started walking to the bathroom with Garcia and a nurse.

Bella was so embarrassed. Suddenly she remembered what Emily had written on the letter.

"I want Derek" Bella said remembering that it didn't matter how embarrassing that was that she could trust him.

Derek picked her up and followed the nurse and Garcia to the bathroom. He put Bella down and the two women took care of the girl while he stood at the door.

"Here" a nurse said handing Derek hospital pants. Derek walked in to find Bella only in panties. She looked extremely embarrassed and scared. Penelope helped Bella put the hospital pants on and suddenly Bella said.

"The other day when I was there with them and the police came it happened too" She said crying.

"You had an accident when the police came in?" Penelope asked and the girl nodded.

"When they shot that guy I got so scared and I couldn't hold it" she explained crying even more.

Derek kneed down and said "princess, it happens. There's nothing wrong with it, okay? It's just an accident. It happens. You were scared, there's nothing to be embarrassed about"

Bella nodded still crying and he picked her up.

"Let's go home" he said and she rested her head on his shoulder. They walked out of the bathroom and Doctor Sullivan asked if the girl was okay.

"She'll be alright" Penelope said.

"Alright. Here you can just call and I'll stop by at your house. Maybe that's better for her" the doctor said handing Penelope her card.

"Thank you" Garcia said and they went to the car.

Derek put Bella on the back with Penelope and she laid her head on the woman's lap. Jeremy sat on the font with Morgan and Derek started driving.

Bella started calming down and suddenly said "can we get ice cream again?"

Everybody smiled and Derek said "of course we can".

They stopped at an ice cream place and sat to eat. Bella seemed fine and had stopped crying. Once done they went back to the car and it was time for her medicine so Jeremy gave it to her and they went home. When they got to Derek's house Bella was asleep. Jeremy carried her inside and placed her on the bed. She didn't even move. The girl was out.

"I think I should go. Marley is alone in the hotel" he said.

"Okay" Derek said.

"Anything call" Jeremy said and left. He felt awful for lying to Bella but after seeing what the man did on her back he knew he couldn't tell her. He went to his hotel and Derek and Garcia just chilled in the house.

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Around 9:30 Bella woke up crying. She ran to the living room to find Penelope and Derek there.

"Oh princess" Derek said giving her a hug.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Penelope asked and Bella nodded yes. Both could see she was clearly scared.

"Can you hold me like mommy?" She asked Derek.

"Of course. Show me how" he said pulling Bella to his lap. She laid down slightly and put his hand where Emily used to put hers.

"Hold me tight" she said and Derek did.

She just kept crying.

"Does this help?" Derek asked.

She shook her head no and said "it's not the same" and just cried.

"Come here baby. I'll hold you" Penelope said sitting next to Morgan. Bella sat on her lap and Penelope wrapped her arms around the girl while Bella got into a comfortable position. "I'll hold you the Garcia way" Penelope said.

Bella just felt sad. She was scared and in pain and She just wanted her mother to be holding her.

She kept crying until she finally fell asleep again.

After a while Derek carried Bella to bed and Penelope laid by her side. She felt horrible too. She missed Emily so much and she couldn't stand seeing the girl in so much pain. But she went through that too and she knew that being there and being strong for Bella would help.

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In Boston, earlier in the afternoon JJ had got a call from Will and decided to go home. She promised Emily she would be back soon.

Emily was in and out all day. Around 10 she woke up again and her head was hurting a lot. She looked around the room and a doctor walked in to check on her.

"Your vitals look good. I'm sure you'll be out of here in little time" the doctor said and Emily just nodded. She hated hospitals. She just wanted to be home with her daughter. She missed Bella so much. When the doctor walked out she stared at the ceiling and stared to think about what the girl was doing and how she was holding up. She didn't even realized she had tears streaming down her face till the doctor walked back in to get some of her blood for tests.

"Is everything okay? Are you in pain?" The doctor asked.

Emily shook her head no and wiped her face.

"You'll go home soon" the doctor said.

Emily nodded and tried holding the new tears that were still forming in her eyes.

The doctor took some of her blood and went out.

"I'm sorry" Emily whispered wishing that somehow her baby could hear her.

She felt stupid doing that. But she just wanted her daughter.

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 **(Thursday)**

Thursday went okay. Bella woke up late and then sat to read while Derek watched tv and Penelope cooked lunch. They ate and then Chloe stopped by after school. The girl just hung out and Chloe asked Bella about school.

"Are you going back next week?" The girl asked.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that yet" Bella said.

"I can come by and explain what we learned so you won't miss too much" Chloe said and Bella gave her a small smile.

Chloe left around 5 and Reid stopped by around 6. Bella was playing connect 4 with Penelope. They finished the game and then Bella wanted to play chess with Reid. They played two games and Bella lost both.

"You're getting better" Reid said.

"Thanks" Bella said with such a low voice he barely could hear her.

Jeremy and Marley stopped by to eat dinner with them before heading to Seattle. They ate dinner together and then Reid went home. Bella sat with Jeremy for a while and he promised to go visit her soon.

"I love you" the little girl said as a few tears streamed down her face.

"I love you too" he said wrapping her in a hug. "Take care" he said.

"You too" Bella said. He let go of her and she went to say goodbye to Marley.

"We'll see you soon" Marley said and Bella nodded.

"Take care of my babies" Bella said. Marley smiled and said "I will".

And they left.

The night went okay even though Bella woke up a few times. She just got closer to Garcia on the bed and went back to sleep.

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Friday started okay as a chilled day in the house. The morning went great and Isabella seemed okay. But she wouldn't leave Morgan alone. She wanted the man around her all the time.

In the afternoon JJ stopped by with Henry. The boy was happy to see his friend and Bella was happy to see him. JJ had bought some toys for the boy to play so Bella sat with him in the living room while the grownups talked in the kitchen.

"How's everything?" JJ asked.

"It's better than I expected actually" Derek said.

"How come?" JJ asked.

"She's eating okay and she's not crying all the time like I thought she would be" Morgan explained.

"Is she talking to you guys?" JJ asked. She had noticed how quiet Bella was. Even with Henry.

"She talks. Not like before but she's trying you know" Derek said and JJ nodded.

The kids played together and watched a movie. Around 5, Henry fell asleep and JJ decided to take him home. She said goodbye to everyone and picked him up to leave.

Bella just stared at how gentle the woman was with the boy. Isabella felt her eyes fill with tears. She just wanted Emily. She ran out to the guest bedroom without saying a word.

"What happened?" JJ asked confused.

"I don't know." Garcia said starting to walk to the room.

"I'll go" Derek said and he went while Penelope walked JJ to the door.

Morgan walked inside the bedroom to find Isabella sobbing hugging her blanket and Tramp.

"What happened princess?" He asked sitting at the end of the bed.

Bella sat up and then hugged him.

"I just miss her so much" the little girl cried. "I miss both of them" Bella said.

Derek didn't say anything he just pulled her to his lap and let her cry.

After a while Penelope walked in. Morgan made a quiet sign and Garcia just sat next to them and stayed quiet. Bella started to calm down and then stopped crying.

"What happened?" Penelope asked her.

"I just miss them" Bella said holding new tears forming.

Penelope just stared at the little girl. She felt so bad.

"But why did you start crying when JJ was leaving with Henry?" Derek asked.

"Because I saw her with him... And I wanted them to do that to me" Bella said and started crying again.

"Oh pumpkin" Penelope said and held the girl's hand.

"We are gonna do that now if you want" Penelope said.

"But it's not that same" Bella cried and hugged Derek tight. "I just want my mom back" she sobbed.

Derek held the little girl in his arms, slightly rocking her as she calmed down and cried herself to sleep.

He placed her on the bed and Penelope broke down.

Derek hugged the woman and they walked outside the room to talk.

"I can't stand seeing her like this" Penelope cried. "She's just so little"

Derek just hugged her. "She'll be okay" he told her, and also himself as he desperately tried to believe in it too.

Suddenly Garcia's phone rang. It was JJ. The woman wanted to know how was Bella and what exactly happened. Penelope explained and JJ couldn't help but cry. She hated what this was doing to the girl.

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 **(Saturday)**

Saturday morning Bella woke up to find Derek and Penelope talking in the living room.

"Good morning princess" Derek smiled as Bella walked to him. She sat on his lap.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she nodded yes.

"Let's have breakfast?" Penelope asked and Bella nodded. So they walked to the kitchen and sat to eat. After eating, they sat in the living room and Garcia gave Bella her phone. When the man had kidnapped her, the phone stayed at the office. So Bella sat and started going through the messages. There were so many messages from Gavin, Rose, Cameron, some doctors from Seattle. Most of the messages just said how sorry they were for what had happened and that she could count on them. She answered them all back and then started paying attention to the tv. They just hung out in the living room the rest of the morning, then had lunch and sat there again.

They were watching a movie when the doorbell rang. Penelope answered and it was Cameron. Isabella ran to her friend's arms.

Cameron cried and Bella cried too as they hugged.

"Why don't we go seat?" Garcia suggested.

They went back to the living room and sat together. Cameron spent the day there and Bella didn't let go of her. But she also barely said a word all day. She answered all their questions with nods.

Around 6, doctor Sullivan stopped by to change Isabella's bandages. She started crying immediately when the woman walked in.

"What's wrong?" Cameron asked confused. She didn't know who the woman was. Bella let go of her and ran to Derek. He lifted her up as she just cried.

"Not another time, please" the girl whispered crying.

"I'm sorry princess" Derek said and walked to the guest bedroom that was now Bella's.

Doctor Sullivan followed him and Penelope stayed outside with Cameron.

Derek put Bella down on the bed.

"We'll do it as quick as we can, okay? You're gonna be alright" the doctor said getting the things ready. Derek helped Bella take her shirt off then she laid down and Morgan sat next to her. She wouldn't let go of him. The doctor did everything and Bella cried the whole time. She cried a little harder when the woman cleaned where the clover was but she didn't scream or begged them to stop like the other times before.

Once done Derek helped her sit up and she threw herself in his arms. She was shaking.

The doctor handed him one of the blankets from the bed and he covered Bella up.

"Thank you for coming here" Derek told the woman who just smiled and left, leaving Derek alone trying to calm Bella down.

Outside, Doctor Sullivan talked to Penelope and then left. Garcia was just glad they didn't have to go to the hospital. Cameron and Penelope walked inside Isabella's room to find her crying in Derek's arms as he slightly rocked her just like he'd seen Emily do before.

The two women sat on the bed and stayed quiet.

Bella's sobs slowly subsided.

"Do you want to lay down or go watch a movie with us?" Morgan asked.

"Movie" Bella whispered.

He stood up with the girl in his arms.

"Baby girl, get her a throw" Derek told Penelope. He walked to the living room and sat on the couch with Bella on his lap. The girl snuggled up to him as Penelope covered her up with a nice warm blanket.

They all sat together to watch the movie.

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That night Penelope ordered Mexican food and they sat to eat in the living room. Bella ate a little bit and then laid on the couch. She was getting tired.

"Do you wanna go to bed?" Cameron asked.

Bella shook her head no.

"Are you sure? You look tired" Penelope said.

"I wanna go" Bella told Garcia.

"Come on I'll tuck you in" Penelope said. Bella took her hand and went to the bedroom. She put her shirt on and then laid on the bed. Penelope covered the girl up and kissed her forehead.

"You'll share the bed with Cameron and I today, okay?" Garcia said.

"Okay" Bella said. The girl sounded tired and sad.

"I love you pumpkin" Garcia said.

Bella gave her a little smile and closed her eyes.

Penelope kissed the girl's forehead again and left the room.

Bella opened her eyes and tears started falling. She cried herself to sleep that night.

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Sunday morning Penelope and Derek were talking in the kitchen while Cameron and Bella stayed asleep in the bedroom.

"I need to get her some things. You know... Underwear, stuff like that" Garcia said. They were talking about going to Emily's house.

"I don't think she'll want to go but you should" Derek said. "And also bring some things she likes" he added.

Suddenly Cameron walked in. She sat to eat breakfast while Garcia called JJ. The woman didn't want to go to Emily's apartment alone.

A while later Bella woke up to find the bed empty. She walked out looking for Morgan as always. She found him in the kitchen making scrambled eggs.

"Good morning" he said when he saw her. "Do you want bacon too?" He asked.

Bella shook her head no and took a seat around the table.

They ate breakfast and then Penelope asked if she wanted to go to her home to get some things. Bella said no and her eyes filled with tears.

"It's okay. You don't have to go" Derek said as the girl walked to him. She sat on his lap.

"Do you want me to bring you anything?" Garcia asked.

Bella took some time to think and said "can you bring the pictures I have on my nightstand?"

"Of course I can" Garcia said with a smile.

Suddenly the bell rang.

"That must be JJ. I'll be back soon" She said and went to the door.

Bella finished eating the last bits of egg on her plate and then they went to the living room.

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"So Cameron is there. Bella must be happy about that" JJ said as they drove to Emily's house.

"Not really. She's just looks sad... Almost all the time now" Garcia said.

"Is she talking?" JJ asked.

Garcia shook her head no and said "barely".

"She'll be alright. She has us" JJ said.

"Yeah but... I'm starting to think we might not be enough" Garcia said.

"Oh Pen. She's a tough girl. She's going to be okay." JJ said. "It was really hard at first when John died and of course it's probably even harder now but she was okay and she will be okay"

"I hope so" Penelope said as tears filled her eyes. She missed her parents a lot too and she knew how hard it would be for Bella. Because she knew things would probably get a little better but the hurt would always be there.

 **.**

They didn't stay very long at Emily's apartment. Penelope got some clothes for Bella, three books, a few stuffed animals, the girl's uniform, her school bag, two pair of shoes and the pictures Bella asked for.

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JJ dropped Garcia off and went home.

Penelope walked in to find everyone watching tv and Bella asleep on the couch. She struggled to carry two rolling bags full of stuff for the girl.

"Oh God. Did you bring the entire place?" Cameron asked.

"No" Penelope said. Derek hurried to help. They took the things to the bedroom and unpacked. Penelope placed the school bag in the corner of the room.

"She's gonna need a desk" Garcia said.

"We'll go look for one" Derek said.

Penelope put the stuffed animals on the bed and then put the pictures on the nightstand. She sat on the bed looking tired.

"All done?" Derek asked.

"Done" Garcia said.

"It looks good" Derek said looking around the room.

"Yeah but it's not very childlike yet" Penelope said.

"We could do a room makeover. Put some new furniture, paint it…" Morgan suggested and Penelope's eyes light up.

"Oh yeah!" She said excited.

"Let's talk to her later and see if she'd like that" Derek said. Penelope smiled. Derek sat next to her and her smile faded.

"Hey" he said grabbing her hand. "She'll be alright"

Garcia nodded.

"Let's go" Derek said and they went back to the living room where Cameron was watching tv and Bella was still sleeping.

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Later that day Cameron had to leave and Bella was not so happy about that.

"Please don't go" the little girl said looking sad when her friend told her the taxi was on its way.

"I'm sorry Bella. I wish I could stay" Cameron said.

"Please" Bella stared to cry.

"Oh honey don't cry. I promise I'll be back soon"

"You said that last time" Bella cried.

Suddenly the taxi honked.

"I'm sorry I have to go" the girl said, hugged Bella and just left. She couldn't bare Bella crying and begging her to stay so she rather just leave.

Derek picked Bella up and Penelope walked Cameron to the door.

"Shuuuuu it's okay princess" Derek kept telling the girl. Bella calmed down eventually and sat with them to watch tv.

Later at night she was getting very tired so she said she wanted to go to bed. So both grownups followed her to the room.

"My pictures" Bella said in a whisper when she saw.

"I brought a few clothes, your school stuff and some of your stuffies" Penelope said.

"Thank you" Bella said and gave the woman a hug.

"Let's sit down. We gotta talk really quick" Penelope said and sat on the bed with Bella.

"Tomorrow I have to go back to work but I'll just work at the office" the woman said. She had got a text from Hotch earlier that day.

"Are you going too?" Bella asked Derek.

"No. I'll be home with you" he said. The girl breathed and they could see she was relieved.

"and we were thinking that maybe tomorrow we could look for some things to put in your room" Penelope said and Bella stared. "Would you like that?"

"sure" Bella said low and not sounding very excited.

"Alright. So when my work is over we can go take a look at some things" Garcia said.

"So now… how about a quick shower and then bed?" Derek said.

Bella nodded yes and went to get pajamas. She showered and walked back in the room to find both still there.

"Get on the bed pumpkin" Garcia smiled and Bella did as told. Penelope covered her up and kissed her cheek.

"We love you" Garcia said.

"I love you too" Bella said low.

They both smiled.

"Have a good night" Derek said.

"I'm just gonna shower and I'll be right back" Garcia said, the girl nodded and Penelope left. Derek went to get ready for bed too. They were all tired.

Penelope walked back in the bedroom to find Bella asleep holding her blanket, Duffy and Tramp. Penelope was a little scared about the next day but she tried to push those thoughts away. She laid next to the girl and was fast asleep in little time.

In the other room Derek also didn't take long to sleep.

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 **(Monday)**

Monday morning Isabella woke up from a bad dream around 5:30. She just laid on the bed and holding her blanket tight and staring at the ceiling. She started thinking about everything that was going on. She started thinking about her mom and she knew Emily would not want her to be sad all the time and just glued on Morgan and not doing anything. She knew that if she wanted to feel okay again she had to fight through it. And she knew that was what Emily would want her to do.

So that morning when Penelope's alarm clock went off, Bella was awake ready to talk to the woman.

"What are you doing awake? It's super early" Penelope asked.

"I wanna go to school" Bella said.

"What?" Garcia asked in disbelief.

Bella sat up on the bed and said it again. "I want go to school today"

"Are you sure?" Penelope asked unsure of it.

"Yes" Bella said determined.

"Okay" Penelope said with a small smile. She went to get ready for work and Bella went to get ready for school. Penelope woke Derek up and told him what was going on and he was not very sure that was a good idea.

"Let her go. If she needs anything she'll call us" Penelope said.

"If don't think she's ready" he said.

"She needs to leave this house. And her friend will be there." Penelope said. "We need to let her try" she added. She also didn't think Bella was ready but she knew that if they didn't let her go they could be holding her back.

So they took the morning as another regular morning. Both grownups got ready while Bella got ready. They had breakfast together. Penelope and Derek could see how nervous Bella was but they just kept rolling. When they were done Derek explained to Bella how she should take her pain medicine.

"You can drink this at 1pm, okay?" He said. "We'll try to schedule it around the school hours."

"Okay" she said and they headed to the car.

 **.**

As they drove to school, Isabella's eyes wondered around the car and the streets. She was scared someone would find her but she kept telling herself no one would and she had to go to school, that Emily would want her to go.

Derek parked the car and Isabella's friends noticed them.

"Is that..?" Chloe said as she saw Morgan inside the car.

"She came?" Rose asked surprised.

"Guys, let's not freak out. Let her be. Act normal" Gavin said.

Inside the car Bella took a deep breath and took her seat belt off.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Derek asked.

"Yes" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Bella, you don't have to do this today" Derek said staring at her.

"I want to. She would want me to" the girl said pushing away the tears.

Penelope did the same.

"You can maybe pick me up early?" Bella suggested.

"Of course. At what time do you want me to come?" Derek asked.

"The time I need the medicine" Bella said.

"At 1?" Derek asked and she nodded.

"Okay. I'll be here at one. And if you need anything you can just call me and I'll be here in a flash" he said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Can I get a hug?" Derek asked. Bella got close to him and he hugged her.

"Have a great day" he said.

"Bye" Bella said and gave Garcia a kiss.

"Bye pumpkin" Penelope said and the girl walked out of the car.

She took a deep breath and walked to her friends who smiled happy to see her there.

Chloe hugged her and Bella tried hard not to cry.

"Are you alright?" Chloe asked letting go of the hug.

"Yeah" Bella said pushing the tears away.

"Hi" Rose said and Bella hugged her too and then Gavin.

"I'm glad you're okay" Gavin said and Bella gave him a small smile.

"Let's go inside?" Rose asked and the other kids nodded yes, including Bella..

Isabella looked at Derek's car and waved.

Penelope and Derek waved back and she walked inside with her friends.

"What a tough girl" Derek said.

"She is" Penelope said.

"Just like her mama" Derek said.

"Yeah" Penelope said as a few tears escaped.


	75. Chapter 75: The Road To Paris

…

Derek took Garcia to work and since Bella was at school he decided to go to work too, just while the girl was at school.

"Where's Bella?" Reid asked as he saw them.

"She's at school" Derek said proudly.

"What?" Rossi said. "Is that really a good idea?" He asked.

"She wanted to go." Penelope said.

"Wow" JJ said.

No one in that room expected the child to be back at school that soon.

"You know, she's tough. She kept saying Emily would want her to go and ... Who are we to not let her" Derek said.

JJ's eyes filled with tears. She just felt awful. She pushed the tears away and said "well, we have a case" and walked to the conference room to meet Hotch.

The case was in the city. Garcia and Morgan stayed in the office while everyone went out to the police station.

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At school, Bella didn't really talk much but she didn't cry either so everything was going okay. She felt a little overwhelmed at times, especially when a few teachers said they were sorry for what happened. But she was keeping a straight face on and her eyes were clear. So she felt she was doing well. But she couldn't be more relieved when the principal's secretary came to get her around 12:30. Morgan had arrived early because the team took a break and he thought it would be good for Bella to have lunch with them.

The girl gathered her things, said goodbye to her friends and followed the lady to the front door. When she saw Morgan she ran to him. She felt her eyes stinging as all the walls she had built that morning were falling down. She hugged him and let a few tears fall.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked.

"Yeah" Bella said letting go of the hug and wiping her face. He wiped a tear on her cheek and they walked to the car.

She felt a little nervous when she saw the FBI car with JJ on the front, and Reid and Penelope on the back. She just looked at Derek and he knew she was wondering what they were doing there.

"They are taking a lunch break so we're going to have lunch together at Rossi's house" He said and Bella just stared.

She sat on the back next to Penelope.

"How was school?" Garcia asked excited.

"Fine" Bella said really low.

"Your mom would've been proud" JJ said.

Everyone in the car just stayed silent.

Till Reid said "I'm proud".

Bella looked at him with a little smile. He looked at her the same way.

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Lunch went great.

Bella didn't really talk during it but she ate just fine. Her eyes wondered around the house sometimes and she looked a bit tensed but nothing major. Derek gave her medicine a few minutes before they left.

They headed back to the BAU after lunch.

"I left my keys on your desk" Derek told Penelope as he parked.

They walked out of the car and walked to the entrance.

Being back there really scared Bella. She started sweating and as they were almost at the door she stopped walking. JJ and Reid saw it first and stopped to. They looked at her and she said "I don't wanna go"

Morgan turned as she talked and said "it will be quick. We're not staying here right now"

She shook her head no and he knew she was not really ready yet.

"I'll stay here with her" Reid said.

So the rest of them went inside and Reid and Bella sat on a bench close by.

"Do you like staying with Morgan?" Reid asked.

Bella nodded yes.

There was a bit of silence.

Suddenly Bella asked "do you miss her?"

Spencer's eyes filled with tears.

"All the time" he said.

"Me too" Bella said as her eyes filled up to and tears stared falling. Spencer gave her a hug and they both just cried. They stayed hugging till Derek got back.

"Is everything okay?" Morgan asked.

"No" Bella said standing up and taking his hand. "Can we just go?" She asked wiping her face.

"Sure" Morgan said.

"Can you stop by later? I need someone to play chess with me" Bella asked Reid.

He nodded yes with a small smile.

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When Derek parked his car at home Bella was fast asleep. He carried her inside and placed her on the bed.

After a while Hilary called and then stopped by to drop off Sergio. Derek put the cat inside the room with Bella and she slept till about 3pm. She woke up and was surprised to see the cat in there.

"Serg" she said picking him up. "I missed you" she told him and he got away from her. "Great" she said. "At least you don't bite me" she added. The cat was never really attached to her. She got up, took a shower and then sat in the living room to do her homework while Morgan worked on some paperwork. Once she was done she watched tv and stayed quiet on the couch most of the day.

Around 6, Penelope got home and Reid went with her. Bella played chess with him twice and lost both times again. They had pizza for dinner around 7:10 and then Reid went home. Bella sat to watch an episode of Drunk History with Morgan. Once it was over he decided to talk to her about the doctor coming over.

"Bella, remember how we explained that you need to get the bandages on your back changed?" He said and she nodded. "It needs to be changed every two days. And the doctor will stop by to do it, okay?" He said and she nodded again as her eyes filled with tears.

"You're going be okay" he said pulling her to his lap. "That's going to help it heal really fast and then it will stop hurting" he said.

"I know" she said.

"She's coming in about 30 minutes okay?" He said and she nodded.

They just watched tv while waiting for Doctor Sullivan. The woman got there right at the time she had said she would. Bella did a great job. She cried a little but didn't fight them off or anything like that. As all the other times, she cried harder when the woman cleaned around and where the clover was. But she was calmer than the other times and fell asleep really quickly afterwards.

"That's getting better" Morgan said walking in the kitchen where Penelope was drinking water.

"Yeah" Garcia said with a small smile. But Derek could see she was nervous and scared.

"Hey baby girl" he said and she looked at him. "We got this" he said and gave her a hug. "She'll be okay" he said.

That night everyone slept well. Even Bella. She only woke up one time and found Sergio sleeping between her and Garcia. She stared at the cat and fell right back asleep.

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In Boston, JJ was sitting right next to Emily's bed as Emily slept. She had got there around 7.

"Hi. Why did it take you so long? I thought you were coming around lunch time" Emily said sitting up on the bed a bit as JJ walked in the room.

"We had a case. Right in the city" JJ said.

"What case?" Emily asked.

"You're in a hospital. Let's forget the cases for a while, okay?" JJ smiled.

"Alright so... How's everyone?" Emily asked.

"Hanging there I guess" JJ said and they both just felt bad. JJ looked at Emily and knew she wanted details so she went on. "Reid is having a really hard time, he calls me sometimes at night. It's just hard you know" she said. "Rossi is strong. He cried a few times but he doesn't really talk about it. He just told me the other day that we had to make sure Bella knew we all love her" she said and Emily smiled.

"Penelope cries a lot. But I think one third of it is because of you. The rest is because of Bella. She told me today she's trying not to cry in front of her but it's hard"

"Yeah" Emily said. "And how's Derek?" She asked.

"He's been a rock. Your baby's rock. She's clinging to him and he's glad to be there for her" JJ said.

"And how is she?" Emily asked as tears filled her eyes.

"She's so strong Emily" JJ said with smile and Emily smiled too as a few tears fell. "She went to school today" JJ said.

"She did?" Emily asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. She said you'd want her to" JJ said and Emily cried. JJ sat on the bed and hugged her.

"You'll see her soon" JJ said as Emily just kept crying. "I promise" JJ added.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Bella went to school that day and everything was fine up till French class. She started thinking about Emily and how she would talk to her in other languages sometimes. She prayed that no teacher would say anything about her mom and for her luck they didn't. But when Derek picked her up at 12:30 again she felt really sad. She felt like she wanted to talk to Emily but she just couldn't. She wanted a hug but she couldn't have one.

They got home and she was sad all day. She was very quiet, crying a lot and didn't really want to do anything other than sit on the couch watching tv and holding her blanket very tight. Derek didn't insist much but by the time Garcia got there he was starting to get really worried.

He explained to Penelope how the day had been and they tried talking to Bella and finding out what was going on but she refused to talk.

"I don't wanna talk right now" she kept saying.

So they decided not to force her. Morgan and Penelope went to the kitchen and he explained to the woman what Hotch had told him.

"The judge wants her to see a psychologist" he said. "At least once a week, for 5 weeks."

"Do you think she'll go?" Penelope asked. "Cause I mean… Emily always said Bella didn't like psychologists." Garcia said.

"Who knows? But we have to take her" Morgan said and Penelope just looked concern.

They sat with Bella and watched tv till 9:30, when they went to bed. Penelope went to take a shower and Morgan went to tuck Bella in.

"Derek" Bella said as he covered her up. He sat next to her and said "yes princess".

"Can I not go to school tomorrow?" Bella asked as her eyes filled with tears.

"Of course. But why not?" He asked.

"I'm not ready" Bella cried. Derek laid on the bed next to her and hugged her.

"Do you want me to stay here with you till you're asleep?" he asked.

"Yes" she cried. He started soothing her hair and she started to calm down.

Penelope walked in the room and Derek made a face as if saying for her not to mention it. So she turned the light off and laid next to Bella.

Both girls fell asleep shortly. Derek gave Bella's forehead a kiss and pulled her covers up and then went to his bed.

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It was 3:26am when Bella jumped awake from a nightmare.

She looked at Garcia who was fast asleep and she started crying. She was scared. She needed Morgan. So she grabbed her blanket and walked out of the room to his.

"Uncle Derek?" She said at the door but no sound was heard. She could feel her legs shaking. She was so scared. "Uncle Derek?" She said again and no answer. So she walked in. Derek was asleep on the right side of the bed. She walked to him and gave a gentle shake and called for him again. Nothing. She did that mother time and he woke up.

"Princess, what happened?" He said worried, sitting up and wrapping her in his arms. Bella just stared sobbing. He stood up and picked her up.

"Let's get some water, you're shaking" he said carrying her to the kitchen. He placed her on the counter and got some water. She was drinking it when suddenly Garcia walked in.

"What happened? I heard someone here" she said looking sleepy.

Derek looked at Bella.

"Oh pumpkin. What's wrong?" Garcia asked.

"I want my mom" Bella whispered and just cried. Derek put the glass on the sink and picked her up.

"I know you do" he said walking to the girl's bedroom.

He put Bella down on the bed and sat next to her. She snuggled up to him.

"Can you stay here with me?" She asked.

"Of course I can" he said.

They laid down, all three of them, Bella right in the middle.

"We are right here with you" Morgan said and kept running his hand on Isabella's hair. She cried herself to sleep in about 8 minutes. Derek looked at Garcia and both knew they had to sleep too because the next day would likely be a long one.

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In Boston, JJ stayed with Emily. She talked more about how Bella was doing and also talked about what Hotch was doing to try to locate Doyle. Emily asked if she knew where Hotch would send her but JJ said she didn't know any of that yet.

Emily felt like she just needed to see Bella. She missed the girl so much. She wanted to be at home with her daughter and not somewhere else.

When JJ left she promised to go back soon and that she would find a way for both of them to talk whenever they weren't together.

"Make sure my girl is okay" Emily said.

"I will" JJ said and walked out of the room.

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 **(Wednesday)**

As Morgan and Penelope had expected, Wednesday was a long and hard day. Bella was down all day. She was quiet and had teary eyes most of the time. She wanted Derek around all the time.

Morgan knew she needed to see the psychologist especially now that she was so upset. So he scheduled for that very same day at 6:30pm.

He told Bella they were going to pick Garcia up. They did that and then Derek drove to the practice.

He parked the car and Bella froze when she read the sign.

"Let's go home" she said serious.

"We can't" Derek said. "Bella, the judge that let you stay with us ordered you to see someone once a week for a little while. So we have to go In" Morgan explained.

"No" Bella said as tears filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry but you have to" Derek said and she started crying.

"Please no! I don't want to talk to anybody just you guys" Bella said crying.

"But you're barely even talking to us princess" Derek said and got out of the car. He opened her door.

"Please don't make me go" she cried. Derek stayed quiet. He picked her up and carried her inside as she just kept crying. He sat with her to wait and Penelope went to the front desk.

"Hi I have an appointment" Garcia said.

"Name?" The lady asked.

"Isabella Marshall" Penelope said.

"Doctor Joanna Huff will see her soon." The woman said and Penelope went to sit with Derek and Bella. The girl sat on his lap and refused to look up.

Doctor Joanna Huff appeared and called for her. Derek made her stand but she wouldn't let go of his hand.

"You can come with her today" Doctor Huff said and Derek started walking.

"I'll stay here" Garcia said. They went in and sat on a big couch. Bella sat right next to Derek and would not let go of his hand.

"So you're Isabella" Doctor Huff said. The woman was in her mid 40s, was tall and had a pretty red hair.

"Can I call you Bella? Or do you like Isabella?" The woman asked but Isabella kept quiet. Joanna wrote some things down.

"So I'm going to call you Bella, okay? Cause I think that's very pretty" she said and still nothing even though Derek squeezed the girl's hand encouraging her to speak.

"Alright. So you must be Derek Morgan" Joanna said.

"Yes" Derek said. Bella was trying hard not to start crying again.

"So how has she been like at home?" She went straight to the point. "Is she eating?"

"Yes. She's eating okay." He said.

Suddenly Bella sat on his lap. "I wanna go home" she cried.

"Bella, honey. We're just talking" he said.

"I wanna go home." She cried really badly. "Take me home!" She demanded.

"You have to stay an hour here. We're not going anywhere" Derek explained. He wanted to take her away but he knew that it was judge's orders. He had to stay.

"I wanna go!" She cried and hid her face on his chest. Derek just looked at Joanna and the woman could see she wouldn't get anything out of the girl that day.

"Let's just talk the two of us" Joanna said and started talking to Derek about Bella, as the girl just cried the entire time and begged to go home.

Once the session was over they stood up. Joanna said "I'll see you next week". When she said that, Bella ran out. She ran to the car as fast as she could and Derek ran after her scared she would run away. She stopped at the car.

"Take me home" she said serious as tears still fell. She looked so pissed. Derek let her get inside the car and Garcia sat on the back with her. He walked in and told the doctor what happened.

"It's not uncommon for children to refuse to talk. She's scared and it seems she has a hard time opening up but she'll get there" Joanna said.

Derek nodded.

"Next week when you bring her she goes in alone" the doctor said. "The crying will likely happen again. But she'll be alright" the woman said as she noticed Derek's face.

He said goodbye and left.

The drive home was quiet. Isabella was clearly upset. When they got home she went straight to bed. Derek followed her to talk.

"I know you're mad at me for staying there but the judge ordered this. It's not my fault" Derek said.

She just looked away.

"Princess maybe she can help" he said.

"No one can help anything!" She yelled. "Just leave me alone!"

Derek walked away.

 **.**

In the room Bella kept thinking about things. She hated that she had to do that now. She just hated it. She was not going to open up to someone she didn't even know. But she felt bad for the way she talked to Morgan. So after a while she went to the living room to apologize.

"Uncle Derek" she said very low.

He looked at her.

"I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you" she said honest.

"Come here" he said and she walked to him. He pulled her to his lap. "I know you don't like shrinks but even if you cry the whole time you'll have to go" he said and Bella looked down.

"We know it's hard, pumpkin" Penelope said sitting next to them and taking Bella's hand. Bella rested her head on Derek's chest.

"Uncle Derek" she said again.

"Yes" he said.

"Can you sleep with us again tonight?" She asked.

"Of course I can… but only if you promise me you'll try next week. No tantrums or anything like that" he said.

"Okay" Bella said. She wasn't planning on talking to anybody but that night she needed him there.

"Let's go then" he said lifting her up and carried her to bed. Penelope turned the tv off and followed them. They laid down and soon fell asleep. Bella woke up a few times during the night and Derek just hugged her and soothed her hair till she fell back asleep.

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Thursday wasn't much different.

The girl just looked tired all the time, and was very emotional all day. Chloe stopped by after school and they watched a movie together and then had a snack. Bella tried being tough and not cry when her friend was there but as soon as Chloe left she broke down again. Derek calmed her down and she fell asleep. She woke up about an hour later and just watched tv with him. Penelope got home and soon after Doctor Sullivan stopped by. Bella cried but she was doing better. Even the doctor said her back was healing amazingly fast. Once she was done, Derek left Garcia with Bella in the guest bedroom and went to speak with the doctor outside.

"I'm worried about how much she's crying" he said.

"That's normal. She just lost her mother. It's expected that she'll be sensitive and emotional" Sarah said.

"But it's almost all the time. And she's not talking much" Derek said.

"Derek she needs time to process everything and heal from this. From all of this. She didn't just lose her mother. She was tortured. She saw her mother being tortured. It's a lot from anyone but especially a little girl. She needs time" Sarah said and he nodded. He knew she was right. "She needs time and patience... and love" Sarah said.

"Yeah" Morgan agreed.

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On Friday, Morgan had hoped for a better day but it ended up not being that different. The girl was just miserable and it seemed like nothing he did was helping. He got ice cream for her, played games, ordered a new book online, they ate pizza, and did many other things but nothing seemed to cheer Isabella up.

 **.**

Saturday was the same way. Derek wanted to go out but Bella refused to leave the house. Penelope and Derek were trying everything but Bella didn't feel like doing things and was quiet and crying a lot. Penelope had never seen that little girl cry so often.

Later at night doctor Sullivan stopped by and before they changed the bandages they sat to talk while Bella read a book in her room.

Morgan and Penelope explained how worried they were and the doctor said that Isabella clearly needed to see a child psychologist. Derek explained she had gone to one but it didn't go so well. The woman said it's expected for children like Bella to have some sort of resistance when it came to opening up, but with time and patient she would, maybe not to the psychologist but to someone else, someone she trusts.

Doctor Sullivan changed the bandages and was impressed how the girl was healing quickly. But she knew it was just the physical part that was doing great.

 **.**

On Sunday, Derek had decided that he would take Bella out of the house, even if it was for a walk down the road.

So the day started like the previous ones. Bella was very quiet and her eyes seemed like a fountain. She just hated it but she wasn't even trying to hold it anymore.

She ate breakfast and then sat to watch tv.

After a while, Penelope and Morgan sat to talk to her.

"Bella, I know this is hard and that you feel sad and tired but you can't go on like this anymore" Derek said.

"You need to get out of this house pumpkin" Garcia said.

"I don't want to" Bella said low.

"It won't help if you stay inside all day looking miserable" Derek said.

Bella stayed silent.

"We could go get some groceries" Penelope said.

"Yeah" Morgan agreed. "Would you like that?" He said.

"No" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears once again.

"We can either go get groceries or go to the ice cream place. You choose. But we're not staying in this house" Morgan said firm. He had seen Emily do that before and he knew it worked with Bella. He just hoped he wasn't pushing her too much.

"Fine" Bella said serious.

"What's gonna be?" Garcia asked with a smile.

"Groceries" Bella said serious.

"Alright! So come on! Let's get ready" Garcia said excited grabbing Bella's hand.

They changed their clothes and went out. Derek parked at Walmart and Bella couldn't help but feel nervous. As they walked inside she grabbed his hand and held it tight. The man could see she was a scared. They shopped for a while. Bella just wanted to go home but she was doing a good job, she just wouldn't let Morgan out of her sight. They went home and as Bella walked inside she felt like she could breathe again. Morgan put the groceries away and They sat and watched tv all afternoon, they had dinner, played chess and then went to bed.

"Did you have a good day?" Morgan asked Bella as he tucked her in.

"It was fine" Bella said looking serious.

Derek took a deep breath and then said "princess, I know you think you might not be ready for school yet but this is my last week off and I think it would be best if you at least tried going to school this week"

Bella nodded yes even though her eyes filled with tears.

"I know you can do it baby girl" he told her. She nodded again and opened her arms asking for a hug. He hugged her and then gave her forehead a kiss.

"Goodnight" he said.

"Goodnight" Bella whispered and he left.

Bella had a really hard time falling asleep that night but when Penelope went to bed she was able to.

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 **(Monday)**

Bella went to school that morning but she at 9:30 she called Derek.

"Please can you pick me up? I'm not feeling well" Bella cried. She was hiding in the bathroom.

Derek said he would go. They hung up and he started to make his way to the door.

"Hotch I'm gonna get Bella" he told the man.

"What happened?" JJ asked.

"She said she's not feeling well" he said. JJ looked at him knowing the girl was just really sad.

"Are you going to bring her here?" Rossi asked.

"I'm not sure" Morgan said and walked out of the conference room.

In a short time he got to the school. As Bella walked to him he saw the girl's red eyes. She hugged him tight.

"Let's go" he said and picked her up and took her to the car. He placed Bella in the passenger seat and told her to buckle up. He got in the driver's seat and said "Bella I came to pick you up but we are not going home"

"Why not?" She asked very low.

"Because you can't just call me and say you feel bad so you can go back to the house. I won't allow this to happen, honey" he said and Bella just looked down. "You have to understand that you cannot stay in the house all day" he said. "Your mom wouldn't want that, would she?"

"My mom is not here, is she?" Bella said upset and stared out the window.

He took a deep breath and started the car. He knew he couldn't allow Bella to just go home. So he drove to the park. Her park.

"What are we doing here?" Bella asked as he parked the car.

"We're going for a walk" he said.

"No" Bella said.

"Yes we are" Derek said getting out of the car. He walked to Isabella's side and opened the door. "Come on" he said waiting for her to get out.

"I'm not going" she said upset.

"Do I have to carry you? Cause I will" he said and just stared at her.

Bella knew he was serious so she walked out. Derek closed the door and grabbed her hand. They walked around the place for a while and Derek noticed how Bella was almost hiding behind him the whole time. When Bella saw "her" bench she couldn't help it and started crying. Derek picked her up and she just sobbed. He felt like he should take her to the car but he also felt like she would have to face things sooner or later. So instead of running from it he took her to the bench and sat down with her on his lap. She cried for a while but then calmed down. Bella just rested her head on his chest and stared at the lake.

"This is peaceful, isn't it?" Derek asked.

"Yeah" Bella whispered and took a deep breath. Morgan felt the girl's tiny body shake.

"Do you wanna go now?" He asked.

"Yeah" Bella cried and stood up. He stood up, grabbed her hand again and they walked to the car. Both didn't say another word till they got to Derek's house.

"Go shower and I'll get us some lunch" Derek said.

Bella took a long hot shower, put pajamas on and walked to the kitchen.

"No no. No pajamas" Derek said and she just ignored him.

"Bella I know the rule. No pajamas unless is bed time and it's 1pm. Go on change it" he said firm. Bella went back to the bedroom and changed into black leggings and a purple shirt.

"Much better" Derek said as she walked back.

"You know there's people that sleep like this right?" Bella said.

Derek couldn't help but smile as he saw a little bit of the Bella he was used to. "But you don't" he said.

They ate lunch and then sat to play monopoly. They played for a long time and then they sat to watch tv.

 **.**

In Boston, Emily was watching the same channel as her daughter. She missed Bella so much and she felt so bad for what the girl was going through. She just wanted to be home with her daughter.

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On the next day, Tuesday, Bella was not very happy to go to school.

"Can't I miss just today?" She asked.

"No" Morgan said.

She went with a pissed off face.

At school Chloe asked why she left so early the day before.

"I didn't feel so good" Bella said and then looked away. She wasn't really talking to her friends. In fact to anyone.

At lunch time she saw Yuna and Gail looking at her and she felt her heart race.

"I'll be right back" she told her friends and walked to the bathroom close to her classroom. She walked in and the tears started rolling. All she could think about was what Vanessa had told her. All she could think about was that the girl was right. She was an orphan now.

Bella just cried so much and suddenly Miss Marion walked in. She had seen the girl rush to the bathroom and she got worried.

"Oh mon amour" miss Marion said when she saw the girl sobbing. She went and wrapped Bella in her arms. She didn't say anything, she just let the child cry.

Once Bella calmed a bit down Marion took her to seat on the floor close to the wall.

"What happened?" The woman asked.

"I wanna go home" Bella said as tears kept falling.

"But what happened, sweetie? Did someone upset you?"

"No." Bella said. "I just wanna go home" Bella cried and Marion hugged her again.

"Is there someone I can call?" The woman asked.

"Can you call my aunt Penelope?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Marion said. "Where's your phone?"

Bella took her phone out of her pocket and handed to the teacher.

 **.**

Penelope was sitting in the conference room when her phone rang and Bella's face showed up on the screen.

"Bellie? What happened?" She said as soon as she answered the phone.

"Oh hi. This is Miss Marion, I'm Isabella's French teacher"

"Hi, is everything okay?" Garcia asked worried and JJ and Rossi stared at her.

"Could you come pick her up?" Marion asked.

"Of course. I'll be right there" Penelope said.

"Okay" Marion said and Garcia hung up.

"What happened?" JJ asked.

"I'm heading to get her" Garcia said standing up.

"But what happened?" JJ asked worried.

"I'm not sure. Her French teacher called" Garcia said and started walking to the door.

"Can I go with you?" JJ asked standing up.

"Sure" Garcia said.

Derek appeared down the hall and knew something was up.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I'm going to get Bella" Garcia said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Her teacher called and asked me to" Penelope said. "JJ's coming with me"

"Okay. Don't take her home. Bring her here" he said and JJ and Penelope went to the car.

 **.**

"Your aunt is coming" miss Marion said. "Why don't we wait for her outside?"

"Okay" Bella said. They stood up and walked out. The bell rang and students started heading back to their classroom. Isabella's friends saw her walking away with the French teacher.

"I thought she was doing okay" Rose said.

"Her mother died, Rose. Of course she's not okay" Gavin said.

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Miss Marion took Bella to the principal's office and explained to the man the girl was going home early. Of course he was very understanding. So Marion sat with Bella outside the school so the girl could get some fresh air.

After a little while Penelope and JJ arrived.

"Oh baby" Garcia said running to the girl. She hugged Bella who just stayed quiet.

"Penny, take her to the car" JJ said and Penelope went with Bella.

"What exactly happened?" JJ asked the French teacher.

"She was just sobbing in the bathroom and she kept saying she wanted to go home" Marion said.

JJ made an understanding face.

"Thank you for calling us" JJ said.

"It's alright" Marion said.

 **.**

JJ drove to the BAU while Garcia sat on the back with Bella. The girl stayed quiet all the way.

"I wanna go home" she whispered to Penelope as JJ parked the car.

"We can't go home right now bunny. We're working" Garcia explained feeling bad.

Isabella just hugged her and tried hard to keep her tears in.

"It's okay honey you'll stay with us. It's gonna be alright" Penelope said. She let go of the hug and wiped Isabella face. "Let's go" she said and they got out of the car. Bella held her hand tight all the way.

"Do you want to stay with me in my office?" Penelope asked completely forgetting about what happened there.

Isabella looked scared immediately and said no as tears filled her eyes again.

"No. She'll stay at the conference room with me. Come on" JJ said grabbing the girl's hand. Bella followed her to the conference room and everyone but Hotch were there.

"Hello" Rossi said.

"Hi" Bella said embarrassed.

"Come seat with me. I might need some help with this. Could you try to help me?" Rossi asked showing her some papers.

Bella shyly walked to him.

"All you have to do is put it in order. Can you try that?" He asked.

"Sure" she said very low and took a seat next to him.

Derek gave him a thankful smile.

The girl sat there and helped Rossi organize some files. Later Bella played chess with Rossi at his office. Around 2, Rossi noticed the girl was getting tired.

"Do you want to take a nap? That couch is not that bad" he told her. Bella shook her head no and she looked very serious.

"Hey. No one is going to come here." Rossi said and she just looked down at the floor. "That's what you're scared of, isn't it?"

She nodded and tears filled her eyes.

"Come here with me. Let me tell you something" he said grabbing her hand and guiding her to the couch. They sat beside each other.

"What happened at Penelope's office was horrible. And I understand why you are scared Bella. I do, I really do. But we are here and we are not letting anything bad happened to you" he said.

"But all of you were here last time too" Bella said as a tear fell.

"Do you remember anything from when he got you?" He asked her.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"And what do you remember?" Rossi asked.

"I woke up and my arm was hurting and I tried to move away but I couldn't" Bella said as a few tears escaped. "And then I woke up in there" she added.

"Do you remember who the man in the office was?" Rossi asked.

"No" Bella said.

"He was a new agent. He had just started working. Doyle had his family and said he would exchange them for you" Rossi explained.

"So he just took me to him?" Bella asked.

"He was young and he was so scared. We were working so hard to find Doyle that we didn't pay attention to everyone around us." Rossi said. "But that will never happen again"

She looked him in the eyes.

"I am promising you that nobody is going to come here to harm you" Rossi said and Bella hugged him.

"I love you kiddo" he said.

"I love you too" Bella said.

They stayed silent for a while and then Rossi asked if she wanted to rest on the couch.

Bella nodded yes. He stood up and she laid down.

"I'm going to be right here working. You can sleep if you want" David said sitting on his desk.

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Bella woke up an hour later to find Rossi and Derek working in the office.

"Did you sleep well?" Derek asked and Bella nodded.

"Do you wanna help?" He asked holding a file. Bella walked and took a seat on the chair next to Derek.

 **.**

They headed home around 6, and everyone was impressed at how well she had done in there. Rossi had told them what they talked about.

At home they had dinner, watched some tv and then headed to bed.

"I'm so proud of you for helping us in the office today" Derek told Bella as he tucked her in.

She stayed silent. She didn't really love staying at the office but it ended up not being as bad as she thought it would be.

Derek tucked her in and then headed to his bed.

 **.**

The next day, Wednesday, Bella went to school and she was feeling a bit better. She managed to stay the entire time and tried talking to her friends a bit more. After school Derek picked her up and they went to the office. She asked to stay at Rossi's office again, so she sat on the couch and did her homework, and then she spent the rest of the afternoon watching shows and playing on her ipad.

Around 6, Derek went to talk to her.

"We have a stop before home tonight" Morgan said and her eyes immediately filled with years.

She had forgotten about the shrink.

"We have a deal, remember?" He said and she nodded and wiped a tear that escaped. "You're gonna be alright but we have to go right now" he said.

Bella got all of her things and Derek and Penelope left with her. Everyone could see, as they left, that the child looked extremely nervous. When they got to the practice Bella started to feel really scared to go in and the tears just started falling.

"Please I don't to" Bella said crying.

"We have a deal. Come on" Derek said taking her hand. She followed him inside and sat on his lap.

"Isabella Marshall" doctor Joanna Huff called.

"Your turn." Derek said making her get up. He took her hand and walked with her. She walked inside the office and as he was about to walk in the doctor remembered him that day only Bella should go in. So he let go of the girl's hand. Bella tried to get out but the woman closed the door. The girl just kept crying.

"It's okay. He's right outside" Joanna said. "Come on let's go sit" she said and walked to her regular spot on the couch while Bella just stood there.

"Come on. Sit her with me" the woman said. "Your uncle is not going anywhere" she said and Bella sat on the couch. "Every patient I have gets to pick a toy from the bin. Why don't you go chose one?" The woman said looking at a big bin in the corner of the room, and Bella just ignored and kept crying. The girl didn't say a word.

The psychologist tried drawing, asking questions, dolls, and nothing worked. Bella just cried the entire time. Once the hour ended the doctor had no choice but to let the girl go.

"You're done" Joanna said and Bella quickly walked to the door.

The doctor opened it and she ran to Derek.

"I'll see you next week" she told them.

Derek took Bella to the car and then asked how it went. The girl stayed quiet.

"Did you say anything?" Derek asked just knowing.

"No" Bella said.

"Not even one word?" Penelope asked.

"No" Bella said.

Derek and Penelope just looked at each other.

They headed home around 7:40 and Doctor Sullivan stopped by to change the child's bandages. Bella cried as always but it seemed like every time it was getting better and easier for her. Once the woman had finished, Penelope stayed in the bedroom with Bella and the girl fell asleep. Penelope ordered pizza and sat to have dinner with Morgan.

Bella slept till the next morning.

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The next two days didn't go so great.

Bella went to school and she seemed fine with it but at home and at the office she was still really down and quiet. She wasn't really talking to anybody and that was really worrying everyone.

Saturday night, Morgan wanted to go out to dinner but once again Isabella refused to leave the house. It got to the point she started crying and kept saying she wasn't going, she ran to the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Derek and Penelope didn't know what to do.

So Morgan called JJ.

 **.**

"What happened?" JJ asked walking inside with her secret weapon next to her, Henry.

"She won't leave the house" Penelope said.

"Have you sat and talked to her?" JJ asked.

"We've tried everything in the last few days. Ice cream shops, book store, library. She just won't go anywhere" Derek said.

JJ walked inside the bedroom and Bella was laying down covering her face.

"Hi" JJ said sitting next to the girl on the bed. Bella stayed the way she was. "I heard you don't want to go out." JJ said. "Well, maybe Henry could go too" she said but nothing. "Why don't we go have dinner together honey? It will be fun." JJ said. "He misses you so much" she added and Bella looked up.

"Why don't we go?" JJ asked tucking some hair behind the girl's ear. Bella shook her head no.

"Why not?" JJ asked.

"Because I can't" Bella whispered.

"Why can't you?" JJ asked.

"Because I don't want to go" Bella said and just started crying.

JJ pulled her up and wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Baby your mom wouldn't want you to stay home and be crying and miserable all the time." JJ said and Bella just kept crying. "She wouldn't want you to stop living Bella. Everything she ever did was to make sure that you would stay alive. Make sure you can go and do things. I know you're sad and you're scared but you need to leave this house. No matter how scared and hurt you are, there's big world out there that I know your mommy wants you to see." JJ said.

"But I'm scared all the time… I can't do it." Bella cried.

"Yes you can. I know you can. You're already going to school and hanging out at the office with us. You can do this too" JJ said.

"But I'm scared in there too. I don't even know how I'm doing all of that Jennifer" Bella cried.

"You're doing that because you're strong. You're so tough Bella. You're tough like your mom. You show it to us every day. And I know, and Penelope and Derek they know too that you can do it." JJ said.

"You can do it" JJ said. She just hugged Bella for a while and the girl calmed a bit down.

"Can we try tonight?" JJ asked. "Henry is gonna be there" she added.

"Okay" Bella said.

JJ let go of the hug. "Let's go change your clothes then" she said.

Bella got up and looked really embarrassed but she changed her clothes and they walked to the car.

"We are right here with you" Morgan said grabbing her hand.

Bella got on the backseat and Henry was really excited to see her. She tried concentrating on the little boy instead of the street and the people outside. Derek parked the car at Olive Garden and they went out. Bella grabbed his hand as soon as she stepped out of the car. He gave her hand a squeeze letting her know he was right there and she was safe. They walked inside and Bella sat between Derek and Henry. They ordered and Bella drew with the boy while they waited. Everyone could see she was really tensed but they were so happy she was trying.

The food arrived, they ate and talked and Bella felt like it was a normal dinner. But looking around the table someone was missing. Emily. She wanted her mom so much. She missed her so much. Her eyes filled with tears but she kept eating and pushed it all away.

When they got back home that night Bella just broke down again.

Derek picked her up.

"It's okay" he told her. "We are so proud of you"

"I want my mommy" Bella sobbed.

"I know princess" Derek said.

Penelope hugged both of them as the three of them cried.

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The next day, Sunday, Bella woke up and her head was hurting. She asked for some medicine and after taking it she ended up sleeping again.

"I think we need to do something to cheer her up" Penelope said.

"Like what?" Derek asked.

"I'm not sure yet" Penelope said.

"We could paint her room" Derek said. "The three of us, together. That would be fun"

"Yeah!" Garcia said. "Can we do it today?" She asked.

"We need to get the paint first. We could try tomorrow" Derek said and Penelope agreed.

So they spent the day at home just hanging out.

 **.**

In Boston, JJ had arrived around 10am to find Emily awake fighting with a nurse about pain killers.

"Miss, you need to take this" the nurse said.

"I'm not in pain. I already told you" Emily lied. She was In a bit of pain she just didn't like feeling heavy and drugged all the time.

"You have to" the nurse said "please"

JJ walked in laughing.

"Wow. I leave for a few days and get back to this. You need to listen to them. You're not a doctor" JJ said.

"Hi" Emily smiled and they hugged.

"Please make her take this" the nurse said placing two pills down and left the room.

"How are you feeling?" JJ asked.

"I'm alright" Emily said. The look on her face exactly like JJ had seen in Isabella.

"Wow. You taught your daughter well" JJ said.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Lying" JJ said making a face.

"Is she doing that?" Emily asked.

"What do you think?" JJ said with a sorry face.

"Well she is a Prentiss after all" Emily said and JJ couldn't help but laugh.

"How is she doing?" Emily asked more serious now.

"It's been tough." JJ said. "She's really down and she doesn't really like going out"

"Are you guys making her go out?" Emily asked.

"We're trying to get her to want to go places" JJ said.

"She won't go. You have to force her. Tell Morgan he needs to force her because if he doesn't she will shut herself out." Emily said and JJ nodded.

"The judge ordered her to see a psychologist for 5 weeks" JJ said.

"Oh no" Emily said quick.

"Why oh no?" JJ said.

"That won't work at all. It's just... We've tried before and she doesn't talk. She's just gonna cry the whole time" Emily explained.

"When did you try that? She didn't see one when John died" JJ said.

"When she was at boarding school. They had a psychologist there and since Bella was having a hard time adjusting to everything the principal ordered for her to be seen once a week" Emily said.

"For the entire time she was in that school?" JJ asked surprised.

"Yeah." Emily said.

"And she didn't talk at all?" JJ asked.

"No. Not even once" Emily said.

"Wow" JJ said. She just knew she had to somehow tell Derek that Emily and John had been through that before.

"Well..." JJ stared. "I talked to your doctor and he said they can take your stitches out today"

"Really?" Emily asked relieved.

"Yes and if they do that we can get you out of here in two or three days, if your exams are clean" JJ said.

"Do you know where I'll be going to?" Emily asked.

JJ reached inside her pocket and took a piece of paper out. She handed it to Emily who opened it and just stared at the word…

"Paris"


	76. Chapter 76: France

…

 **(Monday)**

Monday morning, Morgan woke Isabella up while Garcia got ready.

"Bella" he said running his hand on her arm. She moved a little. "Wake up princess. It's time for school" he said and she opened her eyes.

"Morning" Bella said fully opening her eyes.

"We gotta go. Come on" Derek said. Bella got up and went to get ready. They sat to eat breakfast together and Bella remembered Derek would be back at work for real now.

"Uncle Morgan?" She said really low.

"Yes?" He said and looked at her.

"Are you going on a case today?" She said as tears filled her eyes.

"I don't know yet princess" he said feeling bad. Both grownups could see the girl was scared about that.

Bella took some time to think and then said "I don't want you to go" and the tears started falling.

Derek took a deep breath. He knew that would be hard for the girl.

"Look, I don't think I'll be going anywhere today, okay? But if I do you're going to be okay with Garcia" he said and she just looked down.

"But I don't think I'll have a case today" he said hoping that would somehow help her.

Bella just stayed quiet and finished her breakfast.

 **.**

At school Bella had a really hard time trying not to think that the team would be going away somewhere dangerous. She texted Morgan a few times to make sure everyone was alright inside the BAU. He picked her up at 3:30 and she hugged him and said with a small smile "I'm so glad you didn't go anywhere"

"Me too" he said smiling.

They went to the BAU and when Bella walked in her heart sank.

They had cleaned Emily's desk.

"Where are her things?" Bella asked as her eyes filled with tears.

"Everything is in my car" Morgan said. Bella looked at him and just cried. He picked her up and went to Rossi's office since everyone was gathered in the conference room. "I'm sorry but we can let her things stay there" he explained as he put her down on the couch.

"I know" Bella said as tears kept falling. "I just didn't know you would take it out today" she said.

Derek wrapped her in his arms as she calmed down.

"Look" he said letting go of the hug. "I'm getting my own office soon and I'll make a little place for you in there, okay? We can keep some of her things there too if you want" he said and Bella nodded. "Alright" he gave her a little smile. Suddenly Reid walked in.

"Hi" Spencer said. "Hotch is asking for you"

"I'll be right there" Derek said. Reid gave them a small understanding smile and walked back to the conference room.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked Bella. She nodded yes.

"Do you have any homework?"

"Yes" she said.

"Alright. So get started on those and I'll be right back." He said and she started taking her school things off her bag.

Derek went to the conference room and everyone was gathered.

"Hey. Is she okay?" Garcia asked. Reid had told them Bella was crying.

"She's alright" Derek said.

"She saw the desk?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah" Morgan said and everybody nodded understanding. "Do we have a case?" He asked a little worried.

"No" Hotch said. "We haven't been invited in yet but we need to work on a profile" he said. So everyone sat around the table and started working.

 **.**

As the day went on the team worked hard and Bella did the homework and watched Netflix. Penelope got a call from Hilary and the woman offered to watch Bella whenever they needed. Garcia told Morgan and they sat to talk about what their plan would be, how Isabella's schedule would be.

So after dinner that night they sat to talk to the girl.

"Bella, we talked to Hilary today and she offered to watch you while we work since she works for home in the afternoons." Derek said and Bella just looked a little nervous.

"We were thinking that maybe you can go home with Chloe after school and we'd pick you up after work" Penelope said.

Bella shook her head no as tears filled her eyes.

"You don't want that?" Garcia asked and Bella shook her head no again.

"Why not?" Morgan asked.

"Because I wanna stay with you both. I don't wanna go there every day" Bella said.

"Which days do you have choir?" Morgan asked.

"Monday, Wednesday and Friday" Bella said.

"Chloe goes too right?" He asked and Bella said yes. "How about if you go home with her on those days and on Tuesday and Thursday you go to the office?" He said.

Bella took some time to think about it and said "okay"

"Yeah? Are you sure?" Garcia asked.

"Uhum" Bella said. "But I can still call you whenever, right?" She asked.

"Of course you can" Garcia said.

"You can call us anytime" Derek said.

"Yeah" Penelope smiled. Bella walked to the other couch and hugged them both.

"I love you" she told them.

"We love you too pumpkin" Penelope smiled.

"Alright, no more tears" Garcia said wiping her face and then Bella's. "Doctor who is starting" she said and the three sat together to watch the show.

A while later doctor Sullivan called and told Morgan she was going there. So some time later she stopped by. She changed Bella's bandages in the living room while the girl watched the show.

"Wow this looks amazing" the doctor said as she took the two top bandages off. She started cleaning and Bella flinched.

"Does that hurt?" The doctor asked.

"It's just cold" Bella said.

"That's good" Sullivan said. She cleaned it all up and put a different cream on. She took the bottom one off and cleaned it. As always Bella cried a little on that one. It was still pretty red and sensitive but it was healing okay.

"No bandages on this part now. Just put this cream after she showers. Don't rub anything in there. Just let the water run and then dry it with a towel" the doctor said as Bella sat up and wiped her face.

"Did you hear that?" Garcia said smiling. "There's a part that's almost all better"

"Is it going to hurt when I shower?" Bella asked a bit scared as the doctor helped her put her shirt back on.

"Not at all" the doctor said with a smile. Bella turned to Derek and opened her arms asking for a hug. He hugged her and she cried a little.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"You're relieved it's almost over?" Derek asked.

"Yeah" she said and cried a bit.

"Yeah. It's gonna be all better soon" Morgan said wiping her face.

"It feels weird now" Bella said as she felt her back touch the shirt.

"Better or worse than with the bandage?" The doctor asked smiling.

"Better" Bella said with a little smile.

"Good" doctor Sullivan said. Everyone was smiling glad the kid was getting better from that. "Alright. So I'll see you in two days?"

Bella nodded and Garcia walked with Sarah to the door.

Penelope went back and sat with them.

"So Derek... Why don't we talk about the room thing?" Garcia said making a face as she was holding her excitement in.

"Oh sure" Derek smiled.

"What room thing?" Bella asked intrigued.

"Well..." Derek said "we want to do a little renovation in the bedroom here. Your new bedroom." He said and she just stared. "What do you think?" He asked.

"Cool" Bella said not really that excited.

"We could paint it and get new furniture. It's all up to you" he said.

"Okay" Bella said and gave them a little smile.

"I promise it will be fun" Garcia said.

"Can I help you paint it?" Bella asked Derek.

"You must" he said and stood up. He grabbed a paint catalog on his go bag and handed to Bella. "Here you go. You can pick whatever you want" he said, handing the catalog to her.

She looked through it for a while and then said "there are so many options" and looked kind of lost.

"You don't have any idea of what color you'd like?" Derek asked.

"Maybe blue" Bella said.

She went to the blues and they started analyzing and picturing it in the room. After about 30 minutes Bella had chosen a light blue for 3 walls and a darker blue for one wall. They had also decided on getting a desk and a book shelve, new decorations and bedding.

"So we have a plan?" Derek asked.

"Yes" Bella said with a small smile now sounding more excited.

Penelope and Derek smiled.

"Alright. So bed time cause tomorrow will be a loooong day" Garcia said.

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JJ had left DC around 7:45pm. She got in Boston and headed straight to Emily's hospital room.

"Hi. Sorry I'm so late. I got packed at work" JJ said walking in.

"It's alright. How's everything?" Emily asked.

"Doing okay I guess" JJ said.

"How is she?" Emily asked talking about Bella.

"Getting better" JJ said.

Emily stayed quiet.

"Well, how are you?" JJ asked.

"Getting better" Emily said making a face.

"Are you ready for the trip?" JJ asked.

"I guess" Emily said now serious. JJ could see her friend was upset.

"Hey. It's just temporary" JJ said.

"I know. It's just.." Emily said.

"Bella" JJ said.

Emily just stared at her and JJ knew that was exactly why she was upset. Jennifer tried to put herself in Emily's shoes and think about what if it was her leaving Henry behind. She truly hated what she was doing but as she put herself in Emily's shoes she knew she would leave Henry too. Because she knew it would be their best chance.

Two nurses and a doctor walked in and discharged Emily. JJ drove to the airport and they had a jet waiting for them.

Emily sat and JJ sat next to her.

"Would you like some water?" JJ asked.

"Yeah" Prentiss said. JJ got a bottle and handed it to her and took the seat next to Emily. Emily drank some water and she could feel her heart pounding on her chest. She couldn't believe she was leaving the country. She couldn't believe she didn't have her daughter with her.

She took a deep breath as she felt her heart race.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked as she noticed Emily's face.

"Yeah" Emily said as tears filled her eyes.

JJ reached inside her pocket and took a piece of paper out and handed it to Emily. Emily opened and asked confused "what's this?"

"It's your online scrabble name and password." JJ said. "And this one is mine" she said pointing.

Emily looked at her a bit confused.

"They have a little chat thing. We can talk and no one will ever know" JJ said with a small smile.

"Thank you" Emily said.

"I promise I'll answer as soon as possible" JJ said and Emily nodded. She was really thankful her friend found a safe way to keep in touch.

Emily stared at the paper.

"Cheetobreath... This user name is so you" Emily said and they laughed.

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 **(Tuesday)**

The jet landed in Paris and they headed to different hotels. JJ gave Emily a name of a cafe so they could meet there later at night. So when Emily got to the hotel she decided to rest a little. She wasn't able to find a comfortable position to sleep on the plane so she was truly exhausted. It didn't take very long for her to sleep.

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In DC, Bella had a good day at school. Derek picked her up and they went to get the paint. Bella was nervous about going out but she wanted to get the room fixed so she put on a brave face and went. Later they meet Penelope at a furniture shop and picked out her things. Derek suggest stopping by Emily's apartment so Bella could see if there was something she wanted but the girl said she didn't want too so Derek asked if they could just stop by after school the next and she said she would think about it. So they went to the mall and go some bedding, she picked out a light grey and light pink chevron theme. Penelope agreed it would look amazing with the light blue walls.

"Can we go home now?" Bella asked as they walked out of the shop. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything.

"Do you want to stop there first?" Garcia asked pointing to the Disney store. Bella took some time to think and nodded yes. Penelope smiled, grabbed Bella's hand and they walked to the store. In there, Bella picked out a big Cheshire cat tsum tsum and a big Marie tsum tsum to match her room. Garcia picked out a Cinderella fleece throw that matched the blue walls, a light blue Cinderella lamp, and new pajamas for Bella.

They headed home around 4:30 and started preparing to paint the room. They took a bunch of things out of the room and started painting. All three of them.

Bella liked it but after 15 minutes she got bored.

"This takes so long" she said.

"Why don't you two put the furniture together while I finish painting?" Derek said.

"Sure" Bella said handing him her paint brush. Garcia laughed and they went to the living room.

After a lot of work Derek finished painting and went to the living room to help them. They had put together the desk and were half way through the book shelf. He helped and they finished it up pretty quickly.

"All done?" Bella asked looking tired.

"Yes" Derek smiled.

"I need a shower" she said and Derek and Penelope laughed.

"I need food" Morgan said.

"You go shower and I'll order pizza" Penelope said and Bella went to get pajamas.

While the girl showered Garcia ordered food while Derek threw all the trash away, then they sat to wait. After a while Bella got back and they started watching tv. The pizza got there, they ate and midway through a movie Bella was out.

"You guys can sleep in my bed tonight. I'll have the couch" Derek said.

"I'm sure she'll want you there too" Garcia said and Derek laughed.

"Sure" he said. "She wants or you want?" he joked.

"Ha ha. I won't deny anything" Garcia joked.

"Well, We are already raising a baby together" Derek said and they both laughed.

"You know Garcia you should really move in" he said. Penelope stared. "I can build you a room" he said.

"Really?" She asked unsure.

"Yeah. I mean we really are raising her together now" he said.

"But what if you get a girlfriend or ... I don't know" she said not really sure of it.

"We'll figure it out when that happens" he said. "She wants you here" he said.

"Okay" Penelope smiled.

"Alright. So let's go to bed. I need to rest cause I have a new bedroom to make" Derek said and Penelope laughed.

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In Paris, Emily headed out and she felt scared. She knew that there was no way Doyle could know she was still alive but she felt scared anyways as she walked outside by herself for the first time.

She got to the restaurant and JJ was waiting.

"This has to be quick" JJ said. She got a folder from her bag and put it on the table as Emily sat down.

"Everything you need is here. Passports, bank details, everything." JJ said and Emily took the folder.

"Thank you" Emily said.

"You know what to do" JJ said and then stood up.

"Yes" Emily said.

"Good luck" JJ said and simply walked away. Both knew they couldn't just sit there and talk for hours. They knew they had to be careful.

Emily sat there for a while as JJ walked down the street. When JJ turned the corner Emily headed back to her hotel. She took her small bag and her purse and checked out. She knew she had to disappear. She got a cab and went to another hotel. She checked in with one of the fake passports and headed to her room. She placed her thing on a table, ordered some food and sat on the bed to wait. She stared at the window and saw all the lights in the city. She started wondering what Bella was doing, how Bella was. She missed her girl so much. Her eyes watered but she refused to cry again. She walked to the bathroom, washed her face and just pushed all those thoughts away. She had to be strong.

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Wednesday was a little hard.

Bella had an okay day at school and at the office but after they left work Derek stopped by at Emily's apartment. JJ was with them. Bella put on a brave face and went in but before she got to the stairs she had a panic attack. She started crying really bad, her breathing got heavy and Derek knew he had to get her out of there so they locked the door and went to the car. She took a while to calm down but eventually she did. The worse part was that it was Wednesday and she had to go see the shrink. Bella sat on the back with Penelope while JJ was on the front with Derek. When Bella saw where Derek parked the car she started crying again and kept saying she was not going in. Derek carried her inside and she cried and asked to go home. The doctor called her in and she would not let go of Morgan so doctor Joanna Huff let him go in with her. The woman asked about why she got there crying already and he told her everything that happened. Bella cried the entire time and just said she wanted to go home, nothing more. The shrink gave her a notebook and explained she wanted Bella to use it as a journal, and that like that she wouldn't have to talk but write and it might be easier. Bella didn't even move to get the journal. She just looked away so Derek got it and they left.

"Is it always like this?" JJ asked as they buckled up.

"Yes" Morgan said looking at Bella sobbing on the back with Garcia.

"I wanna go home" the girl cried.

"We are going home" Morgan said serious. JJ could see he was upset.

"Hey" JJ said getting him to look at her. "She's like this. Emily told me once that she hates shrinks and she just doesn't talk at all." JJ said.

"I know" Derek said. "I'm not mad at her" he said.

"I know you're not. But you're worried" JJ said.

"Well of course I am worried" he said. "Just look at her" he said and started driving. Morgan absolutely hated seeing Isabella cry. He always felt like he just wanted to grab her and run and make everything that bothered or hurt her go away. And he hated the fact that he couldn't.

 **.**

They stopped to drop JJ off and then went home. When they got to the house Bella was asleep. Derek carried her inside and placed her on the couch. Garcia showered and then sat with the girl while he showered. About an hour later Bella woke up and sat with them to watch tv. Later She showered, had dinner and then the doctor stopped by. The woman saw the girl's back and it was really healing great. She showed Garcia and Morgan exactly what to do and said she wanted to see the girl in 10 days for a check-up. Bella cried a little bit when the doctor cleaned the clover and around it. The woman was happy about the improvements and left. Bella stayed on the couch with them and soon fell asleep.

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The first day in Paris was hard for Emily. She wasn't very sure about going out so she stayed inside the hotel room all day.

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 **(Tuesday)**

Derek was talking to JJ about how Bella was doing when Hotch walked in and said they had a case in Montana. Derek wanted to text Bella but JJ suggest not.

"She'll be upset if I don't. Emily always texted her" he said.

"If you do she'll be upset at school. You know that. Let her know from Penelope when she's already here" JJ said and Derek agreed. He knew Bella would probably get nervous and he was scared she would call crying begging to go home.

 **.**

Around 3:20, Garcia texted Bella telling her to get on the bus with Gavin. So after a while Bella arrived at the BAU. She had been feeling really nervous the entire ride.

"Hi munchkin" Garcia said giving her a hug after she walked out of the elevator. "How was school?"

"Fine" Bella said. "Why did I come on the bus today?" She asked.

"They went on a case" Garcia said a bit scared of the girl's reaction.

"And no one told me?" Bella asked as her eyes filled with tears.

"We didn't want you to be scared at school honey" Garcia said and wrapped Bella in a hug again as she saw the girl was about to cry. "I'm sorry" Penelope said.

"Where did they go?" Bella asked pushing her tears away.

"Montana" Garcia said letting go of the hug.

"Is it dangerous?" Bella asked.

"They'll be alright bunny. Don't worry" Penelope said wiping Bella's cheeks. "Come one. Come to the conference room with me" she said and they walked there.

They stayed at the office till 10:30. Bella was getting really tired and Penelope didn't want the girl to sleep in there so she took Bella to her house. Bella felt weird going back there after such a long time but she always loved Penelope's apartment.

 **.**

The next day, Garcia dropped Bella off at school and headed to work. Bella had agreed to go to choir that day so Penelope told her to go to Hilary's house. The day went on fine, Bella was nervous to go to choir but it went fine. At Hilary's house she tried to distract herself. She knew that if she started thinking too much she would freak out. So she did her homework, played games, played piano, played with the dog, helped Hilary cook dinner, she did a bunch of things and it helped.

Penelope went to pick her up at 9 and they headed to Garcia's house. Derek had been texting Bella all day but at night he called to make sure she was okay. The girl was happy to hear his voice.

"When will you come back?" She asked him.

"In a day or two I think" he said.

"Okay" Bella said relieved. She felt okay with Garcia but she only truly felt safe with him.

"I'll see you soon princess" he said.

"I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too. Bye" Derek said and hung up.

"How about a shower now?" Garcia said.

Bella showered and then Penelope changed the girl's bandage which went way better than both had expected.

 **.**

On Saturday, Bella was not very happy to go to the office but that changed when Derek go back around 11am. JJ suggested going to the movie theater with the kids and even Hotch agreed on it. So everyone, but Rossi, went to watch Kung fu panda 3. Everyone had a great time. Bella was a bit nervous in the beginning but as the movie went on she relaxed and had a great time. Once it was over everyone headed home. Since Bella seemed to be in such a great mood Derek decided to stop at Emily's apartment again. He knew that sooner or later she would have to go in.

"What are we doing here?" Bella asked as he parked in front of the building.

"We need to get somethings so we can finish you room" Morgan told her and she stayed quiet. "Come on we won't be long" he said and got out of the car. Penelope got out too but Bella didn't even unbuckled. Derek opened her door and said "come one, I promise it won't be long"

"No" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Baby girl it's okay" Derek said.

She shook her head no and said "I'm not going" as a few tears fell.

"Bella, come on, pumpkin. Just try" Garcia said.

"No. I'm don't wanna go" Bella said upset.

"Bella" Derek said.

"IM NOT GOING" Bella yelled and just cried.

"Come on" Derek said as he went to unbuckle her.

"No!" She cried.

"Just 10 minutes inside. Please. You have to at least try" Derek said. He knew she needed to go in and process things in order to really get through it.

"No" she pushed his hand away.

"I'm gonna take you in if you don't come" he said now serious.

"No you're not" she pushed him away again.

"Yes I will" he said finally unbuckling her. He went to pick her up and she pushed him off.

"Stop it" she yelled.

"Come here" he said trying to pick her up again.

She pushed him and yelled "leave me alone! You're not my dad!"

Derek suddenly just stopped.

He knew he wasn't her dad. He knew that. But he felt like he wanted to be something like it and hearing her say that just broke his heart.

"Let's go home" he told Penelope. They got inside the car.

"Derek" Penelope whispered feeling bad. She could see he was hurt.

He just ignored her and drove home.

At home things just got worse. Bella refused to even look at Derek and Penelope. The girl was quiet the rest of the day and would only nod and shake her head. She laid down to sleep between Derek and Garcia in his room because they still had not finished hers. She laid there and felt like she was going to explode. Her head was hurting and she could feel her heart beating fast. She laid there and took as much as she could but then she just cried. And cried really bad.

"What's wrong baby?" Garcia asked sitting up.

"I don't feel so good" Bella just cried and cried.

Derek sat up and put his hand on her chest. He felt her heart beating fast and he could see her breathing heavily.

"She's having a panic attack" he said.

"Turned the light on" he told Penelope as he pulled Bella to his lap.

"It's okay. You're gonna be fine" he told the girl who just kept crying.

Penelope turned the light on and Bella's face was super red.

"Can you get her some water?" Derek asked and Garcia ran to the kitchen. Derek placed Bella on the edge of the bed and told her to put her head down between her legs. She did that and she started to calm down. Garcia handed the glass of water to Morgan and she sat up to drink a little bit. It took about 15 minutes for her to fully calm down. She was sitting at the edge of the bed with Penelope on her left side and Derek on the right. Both were holding her hand.

"I'm sorry" she said feeling really bad.

"It's alright. It was just a panic attack, it happens" Derek said.

"No. I don't mean this" she said looking at him and crying. "I'm sorry Uncle Morgan" she sobbed. He pulled her to his lap and gave her a big hug.

"It's alright." He said as tears filled his eyes too.

"I didn't mean to hurt you and I just... I was just scared I didn't want to go in" she said crying.

"I know" he said understanding.

"I can go if you want me to. I'm sorry" she cried.

"It's okay honey. Calm down" he said. "You know have to go in eventually"

"I know." she cried. Penelope was just sitting the holding Isabella's hand and crying too.

"I don't wanna live like this anymore" Bella said.

"Like what?" Derek asked.

"Scared all the time" she cried.

"Oh princess" he said feeling really bad. Penelope just sobbed.

"Can you please help me?" Bella asked.

"Of course. Of course I can" Derek said now letting his tears fall too.

"I wanna be okay" Bella cried.

"We're gonna help you baby. We promise" Penelope said.

"But You have to promise me you'll trust us and that you'll try" Derek said. "That you'll try really hard"

"Okay I will" Bella said.

"Alright. We're gonna do everything we can to help you. I promise you that" Derek said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said still crying.

"Alright. Let's lay down" Derek said and the three laid down. Both hugged the girl. Bella slowly calmed down and they all feel asleep.

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In Paris, Emily decided to go for a walk in a park close by. She stopped at a gift shop and got a postcard for Bella. She hated that she couldn't send it to her but she knew that one day she would be able to give it to her herself. She hoped she would.

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 **(Sunday)**

Bella woke up and walked to the kitchen. She sat to have breakfast and everyone could see she was embarrassed about what had happened.

"So Bella, I was talking to Garcia the other day and she's moving in for real" Derek said and Bella just kept eating her cereal. "So we have to make room for her here so... I need help building another room" he said. "Would you help me?" He asked hopeful.

Bella nodded yes.

"Alright. We have to go get everything, so go get ready once you're done" he said excited and Garcia smiled.

"Go where?" Bella asked a bit unsure.

"To a few places" he said and gave her a look.

She looked down looking scared. She was not sure she could do it. Derek walked to her and kneed down next to her. "Look at me" he said and she looked right in his eyes.

"You said you would trust me, didn't you?" He said. "You promised"

"I know" Bella said.

She just sat there and her eyes filled with tears. She jumped and hugged him. "I just feel like I can't do it" she said crying.

"I know you can. I'll be right there with you." Derek said.

"I just get scared he's gonna come" Bella cried.

"Doyle?" Penelope asked and Bella just nodded.

"Sit up. Look at me" Derek said and she sat back on the chair.

"Look at me" he said and she did as told. "He is not coming here." He said serious. "You were never on his plan. You were not on his list. Baby a while ago he didn't even know you existed." He said tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "You were never who he wanted to hurt... He wanted your mom." He said and Bella kept crying.

"But what about his son?" Bella asked.

"He's okay. Declan is okay" Derek said.

"But she took Declan from him" Bella said.

"And Doyle took her form you. That's it. It's over. He's not coming back baby. There's no reason for him to hurt you. Okay? He's not coming back. He's far far away from here because he knows that we're looking for him. And I promise you he's not coming here" Derek said and Bella looked down at the floor again.

"Look at me" he told her and she looked. "You can do this. You can." He said. She hugged him again and he stood up and lifted her.

"Let's get ready" he said and carried her to the room.

They changed and went out to get everything. Bella was really nervous and would not let go of Derek but she went to every store they had to and didn't ask to go home. Not even once. They stopped to eat lunch around 1pm at chick-Fil-A, and then headed back home.

"I told you could do it, didn't I?" Derek smiled as Bella stopped in front of him to help with the bags. She gave him a shy smile and helped him unload everything. Bella sat to watch a movie with Penelope while Derek started working on the new room. He was going to combine a small office he had with part of the laundry room.

He decided to stop around 5:30 and finish Isabella's room. The three of them helped and around 7 they were all done. The furniture was in, the decorations and bedding were placed and it looked amazing.

"How about that?" Derek smiled big as he saw how good it looked.

Bella hugged him as tears filled her eyes.

"Thank you" she said and he saw she was crying.

"Why the tears?" He asked letting go of the hug.

"I don't know. I loved it" Bella said and let out a little laugh. Derek and Penelope laughed too. And both wrapped her in a hug at the same time.

"We love you so much pumpkin" Penelope said.

"I love you both too." Bella said.

They let go of the hug. "Can we all sleep here tonight?" She asked.

"Of course we can" Penelope smiled and Bella gave her a little smile back.

"So how about dinner, shower and then bed?" Garcia said.

"Okay" Bella said and they went to the kitchen. Bella helped Penelope cook some spaghetti, they ate, showered, Garcia took care of the child's back and they laid down on Isabella's new room to sleep.

Bella's eyes wondered around the place and she really loved how it turned out.

"Thank you for the new room Uncle Morgan" Bella said.

"You're welcome princess" he smiled. She turned to face him. "I love you" she said and closed her eyes.

"I love you too" he said and gave her a little kiss on the cheek.

Penelope just stared with a big smile on her face.

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The next two days went on okay for Bella. She was doing great at school and at home too. Derek was trying to go out more and she would go but she hated it. They could see on her face that she was scared and much rather stay home.

JJ had got in contact with Emily through scrabble and had told her how Bella was doing. Emily was very thankful about everything Derek and Penelope were doing. She felt like she would never be able to thank them enough.

Tuesday night, Bella was at home with Garcia and Morgan when Derek got a call from Hotch.

"We have a case. We need to go" Derek told Penelope.

"Right now? It's almost 11 at night" Bella said.

"Yes we really have to" Derek said and Bella looked upset.

"Do you want to stay at Chloe's?" Garcia asked.

"No!" Bella said upset.

"You have to stay at the office then" Derek said getting his go bag.

"Okay" Bella said and went to her room. She packed a few things and they left.

The night went fine but Penelope couldn't get Bella to go to her office. The girl refused to sleep anywhere else other than the conference room or Rossi's office. So Penelope stayed with Bella in the conference room almost all night. The girl woke up a few times but she was okay.

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In Paris, Emily had changed hotels again, this time in the suburbs, and was finally more confident about going out. She had lunch in the hotel, then went to the city and walked around, went to a few shops and then sat to eat dinner at a restaurant downtown.

She was eating and looking out the window when she saw a little girl walking by with a woman that looked like her mother. She smiled as she remembered little Bella walking around in pigtails just like the little girl was. Suddenly a waiter walked by and the woman was inside with the child. Emily couldn't help but look at the little girl. She had dark hair like Bella's and couldn't be older than 6. Emily heard the woman telling the girl, in French, to take the pacifier off so she could eat. They started a battle because the woman wanted out now and the girl kept saying the food wasn't even there. Suddenly the woman told the girl she would tell everything to the binky fairy and she would not get any presents.

Emily's heart ached as she felt she needed to see and hold Bella. She remembered Bella being 4 and John fighting with her over pacifiers saying the girl was too old for that and Emily always told him he should let Bella have it at least till she was 5.

She felt really sad because she wanted her daughter. She just paid for her unfinished meal and left. She took a taxi to the hotel and as soon as she entered the room she started crying.

After she calmed a bit down she went online and sent a message to JJ on scrabble asking about news on Doyle's case and asking about Bella. She stayed logged in while she watched tv and was surprised when she got a reply after just 4 minutes.

"He was seen in New York and two days later in Maine. We know he's used to the 'good life'. We'll find him" JJ sent.

"So you guys have nothing?!" Emily sent.

"We are doing everything we can" JJ sent.

"You better do way more than that" Emily sent angry.

JJ felt bad.

"What happened, Em?" JJ asked.

"Nothing" Emily said.

"I know you. And I know something happened" JJ said.

"I just miss her, okay?" Emily sent. "I miss my daughter. I should be home with my daughter"

"We are doing everything we possibly can to make that happen. Please don't be mad. You know this is necessary" JJ sent.

Emily took a deep breath. She had to remind herself she needed to keep her baby safe and that was the only way at the time. But she just hated it.

"I know. I'm sorry" Emily sent. "How is she?"

"She's doing okay. I heard she got a new amazing bedroom" JJ said.

":) I want to hear all about it" Emily sent.

They talked for a long time and then JJ said she had to go.

Prentiss felt a bit better after talking to JJ and knowing how Bella was doing.

She couldn't wait to hug her baby again.


	77. Chapter 77:Hard Times Come Again No More

…

 **(Wednesday)**

Bella went to Hilary's house after school and she was alright. It was almost 6 and she had not heard from Penelope yet and she thought that since Derek was out of town she would not be going to see the stupid shrink. But she was wrong.

At 6:14pm, Garcia went to pick her up. Bella decided not to mention it and maybe they would just go home but Penelope went to the practice. She parked the car and Bella's eyes were full of tears.

"Oh Bella" Garcia said feeling bad.

"Please don't make me go" Bella said and tears fell.

"I'm sorry but you have to" Garcia said.

"Why? I'm not gonna talk to her" Bella said upset.

"Because the judge ordered it. You have to" Garcia said.

"But I just hate this" Bella cried and Penelope hugged her.

"I know you do." Garcia said. "Maybe we can go somewhere fun afterwards"

"No, I wanna go home" Bella said.

"Okay. But you gotta go in there right now" Penelope said.

"Fine" Bella said still looking upset.

"Can you go in with me?" Bella asked.

"I don't know" Penelope said. "We'll ask" she added.

"Okay" Bella said. They walked inside and they sat to wait. Bella knew she wouldn't say anything anyways so she just had to distract herself while in there and not listen to the woman.

"Isabella" Joanna called. Bella grabbed Garcia's hand and they walked to the psychologist.

"Hi. I'm her aunt. Umm she was wondering if I could go in with her" Garcia asked.

"She's 11. She can't have someone in with her. Her uncle was there because it was the first section and the then because of her state but she seems okay today" doctor Joanna Huff said.

Bella looked at Penelope. Garcia put both hands on the girl's cheeks.

"You can do it. Just one hour. You'll be fine and I'll be right outside" Garcia said. "Okay?" She asked and Bella nodded.

"Alright, come one in" Joanna said and Bella bravely walked in.

"Would you like to take a toy from the bin today?" The woman asked hopeful the section would be great.

Isabella sat on the couch and stayed quiet.

"So your aunt seems really fun. What's her name?" Joanna asked and Bella stayed quiet and just kept staring at the floor.

"Isabella, it doesn't help you at all if you just stay quiet" Joanna said and Bella's eyes filled with tears. She couldn't help it she hated it. She hated it so much. She couldn't understand how people would just open up to someone they didn't even know, someone who weren't their friends. She didn't care if it was the person's job or not. She just hated it.

"did you write on the journal I gave you?" the doctor asked and Bella just ignored the question.

The hour went on and the girl didn't say a word. Of course the psychologist felt like a failure. Joanna was used to getting kids to talk on the first section. Her hardest child before Bella was a boy who talked to her on the second section. She had never had someone like Bella. The girl was so determined not to let her guard down that she would spend an entire hour lost in her thoughts and looking away.

 **.**

"I'll see you next week" Joanna said trying to sound confident as Bella walked to Garcia. They went to the car and Penelope asked how it went.

"This is a waste of time" Bella said.

"You didn't talk again?" Penelope asked.

"No" Bella said.

"Not at all? Not even one word?"

"No" Bella said. "I don't even know her. Stupid shrinks never talk about them and they think they know what you're feeling. But they don't. They don't fucking know anything" Bella said.

"Hey hey language" Penelope said.

"Sorry" Bella said. "It just came out"

Penelope laughed. "I don't want you talking like that" she said.

"I know. I'm sorry" Bella said, she knew she shouldn't have.

"Well, it's actually quite impressive" Penelope said. "Cause I mean... Not even a hi?"

"No" Bella said.

"Your Prentiss's genes are strong my friend" Garcia said.

"I guess" Bella said.

"Look. Now I'm gonna be serious." Garcia said. "I really think that she can help. She doesn't have to understand how you feel to help you learn how to deal with it."

"I don't need her help. I have you and Derek and the team." Bella said.

"But you don't really open up to us" Penelope said.

"Yes I do" Bella said.

"Bella" Garcia said.

"What do you want me to say? That I miss my parents? That I'm angry she left me? That I'm terrified of everything?" Bella said as tears just started falling.

"Come here" Penelope said and Bella hugged her. "Let's go home"

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 **(Thursday)**

School went fine but Bella was pretty down all day. She went to the office after school and Penelope could see the girl was just sad. Around 4, Derek texted saying they were going back so Penelope and Bella waited in the office.

"Derek" Bella said as she saw him walking inside. She ran to him and gave him a big hug. He lifted her up.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he noticed her red eyes filled again with tears.

"Yeah" Bella said. "Just glad you're back" she said.

"I'm back and I'm starving" he said and everybody laughed.

"Anyone up for a dinner out?" Penelope asked.

"I just need a bed" JJ said.

"I want food" Reid said.

"Sure, why not?" Rossi said.

"Hotch?" Derek asked.

"I have a few things to do here and then I'm heading home" Hotch said.

"See you guys then" Derek said. He put Bella down and said "go get your things". The little girl ran to the conference room.

"Had she been to your office yet?" JJ asked.

"She went there to get food today but she didn't really get in" Garcia said.

"At least she's coming here" Reid said.

Suddenly Bella ran back.

"Let's go?" Derek asked and the girl nodded yes, so they went out to the parking lot. Derek drove to an Olive Garden close by and they had dinner.

As they ate, Derek noticed how down Isabella looked.

"Are you alright?" He asked her and she nodded yes but her eyes just told something different. Derek wrapped her in his arms. "I got you" he said and pulled her to his lap. "Do you want to go outside?" He asked as he saw she was holding her tears.

"Yes" she managed to say. Derek just carried her out to the car. He sat on the back with her and she just cried.

"What happened?" He asked her once he saw she would be able to talk.

"I don't know." She said. "Sometimes it's like... It's like it hits me that she's not here anymore. And she is not coming back" she said between sobs and just cried. "And it's hard"

Derek wrapped her in his arms again.

"I know it's hard. It's hard for me too. I miss her so much" he said.

They stayed quiet for a while and Bella calmed down.

"I just wish I could have her back" Bella said.

"I wish that too baby" Derek said. He made her sit and he wiped her face.

"Why don't we go back there? I know they miss her too and they want to be with you right now more than anything" Derek said and Bella stayed quiet. "Do you think you can finish the dinner?" He asked and she nodded. "Okay. Let's go then" he said. They walked back to the restaurant and sat to eat. No one asked anything, they just talked about how the food was.

 **.**

The next day Derek knew Bella would probably be sad so he woke up really early, checked the weather and made plans for the day.

The girl went to school and Derek and Garcia went to work. Derek told Hotch he needed the afternoon off. So he went home around noon. He worked on Garcia's new bedroom till it was 3pm. It was almost done. At 3, he showered and went to pick Bella up. The girl was surprised to see him and even more surprised to hear his plans. They ended up going to the Zoo, to a children's museum and then ate at McDonald's. They met Garcia back in the house around 9. Bella was exhausted so she went to shower.

"How was it?" Penelope asked.

"Really good. She seemed way more confident" he said.

"That's amazing." Garcia smiled.

"Small steps and she'll get there" he said.

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On Saturday they worked on Penelope bedroom, had lunch at Outback and then finished the room. All they had left to do was put the furniture in but they had to leave that for the next day. It was almost 7 and Bella had a check-up. So they showered and headed to the clinic.

Doctor Sullivan was happy to see improvement on the girl's emotional state. Bella was sitting by herself on the exam table and didn't have one single tear on her face. The doctor checked her heart, lungs, the places she had bruises and then her back.

"This looks really good" she said as Bella took the shirt off. The girl's back was a bit red but it barely had any scaring.

"I'm gonna take the bandage out just to look at it okay?" Sarah said and Bella nodded. She took the bandage out and was also impressed with that. "I think that in 3 or 4 days she can take the bandage out and just put the other cream on. It looks so much better" Sarah said.

Derek looked at it and said "wow it really does".

There was a bit of scaring on a place that looked like she was hurt multiple times and the clover was a bit to the side of that. But otherwise it was healing really well.

Doctor Sullivan explained she had to do a blood test and Bella looked a bit nervous but did it just fine.

"That's just routine. I'll be getting the results tomorrow but I can see she's alright." The doctor said and smiled at Bella. "And you're all done" she said.

Derek helped Bella down.

"In about 4 days if the redness goes down you can take the bandage off and just put the cream like you're doing to the rest of her back" Sarah told Penelope.

"Okay" Garcia said. "Thank you"

"Bye Bella" doctor Sullivan said.

"Bye" the girl said. She looked a bit down but she looked better.

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Emily left Paris that night and went to a small town a couple hours away. She knew staying very long in the same city could be dangerous so she decided she would be moving around. She missed Bella so much. Pretty much all she could think about was getting back home.

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 **(Sunday)**

The day started great.

They went to Penelope's house to help her pack some things and then had lunch at a local restaurant close to her house.

"How come we never came here? The food is really good" Bella said.

"I have no idea" Penelope said making a face and taking a bite of her sandwich. They finished lunch and went to Derek's house. Bella helped them get the boxes inside and then they took a break and sat to watch some tv. They were halfway through a movie, around 3:12, when Derek's phone started ringing. It was JJ.

"We have a case. It's really bad" JJ said.

"Where?" He asked.

"San Diego. We leave in 30" JJ said.

"Alright" Derek said.

"Morgan" JJ said.

"What?" He asked.

"Penelope has to come" JJ said.

"We'll meet you there" Derek said and Bella just stared at him. She knew exactly what he was about to say when he hung up the phone.

"We have a case" he said. "And Garcia... JJ said you have to travel with us this time"

"What?" Bella said, her face showed fear.

"Bella, I'm sorry but she needs to go this time" Derek said feeling bad. He knew that if Garcia was going was because she really had to. He knew Hotch wouldn't have made her go if he had another option.

"No" Bella said and her eyes filled with tears. Derek wrapped her in his arms.

"It's okay baby girl. We won't be long I promise" he said.

"Please don't go" Bella asked Penelope who had tears in her eyes too.

"You can stay with Hilary. We talked about this remember? You said it was okay if you had to stay with her" Derek said.

"If I had to stay with her after school not when you're traveling" Bella said crying as she let go of the hug.

"You can play with Chloe and watch movies. It's gonna be fun." Penelope said but Bella just kept crying.

"Bella, I'm sorry but we have to go. I know you understand that" Derek said.

"You can call and text us, okay? I'll be at the station and we'll be safe. You don't have to worry. Okay?" Penelope said. Bella just stayed quiet. "Okay?" Penelope asked again. Garcia really didn't want to go but she knew that sooner or later it would happen.

"Okay" Bella said. She knew she had to be brave. She hated but she knew she had to go because they'd go work no matter what.

"Let's pack a bag. I'll help you" Derek said and went to Isabella's bedroom with her while Penelope packed too.

They finished and headed out. Penelope had texted Hilary already so the woman was waiting for them.

"Come on in" she said as she opened the door.

"Bella!" Millie said and ran to the girl. Millie wrapped her arms around Bella's waist. Bella jumped as her back hurt because the girl touched right at the bandage.

"Millie be careful" Hilary said pulling Millie away when she saw Bella's face.

"It's okay" Bella said trying to be tough.

"Chloe is in her room doing homework. You can go in" Hilary said. Bella hugged Derek and then Penelope.

"Be careful" she said as her eyes watered.

"We'll see you soon pumpkin" Penelope said with a smile, trying to be tough too.

"Bye" Bella said and went to look for Chloe.

"Is she okay with staying here?" Hilary asked.

"Yeah. Your house is not the problem, she just doesn't want me to leave" Penelope said.

"It must be hard. It's the first time after what happened. She must be scared of everything still" Hilary said.

"Yeah" Penelope said.

"I'll make sure she calls you guys" Hilary said.

"I don't think you'll have any problem with that" Derek said and they laughed.

"Bye. Have a safe flight" Hilary said.

"Thank you" Penelope smiled and they left.

The rest of the day Bella was a mess. She couldn't really concentrate. She tried helping Chloe with her homework since she had already done hers but she kept forgetting the answers and getting mixed up. When Chloe finished the homework they sat to watch a movie and Bella couldn't really pay attention. They had pizza and Bella barely talked during dinner. The girls got ready for bed around 9:30 and Bella grabbed her blanket and laid on the bed.

"Goodnight guys" Hilary said.

"Goodnight" Chloe said.

Hilary waited for Bella's goodnight but the girl was lost in her thoughts. Hilary walked to the bed and sat next to Bella. The girl looked up.

"They'll be back soon. Don't worry" she told the girl.

"I know" Bella said. "Goodnight" she said.

"Goodnight honey" Hilary said and walked to the door.

"Night Chlo" Hilary said, turned the light off and walked away.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked Bella.

"Yeah. Goodnight" Bella lied.

Bella laid there and tried to go to sleep but it was hard. After a while she turned to look at Chloe and the girl was already asleep. She started to get really scared as she felt alone in there. But she didn't want go get Hilary so she got closer to Chloe and threw her friends arm around her. She closed her eyes and started to tell herself in her mind that she was okay, that Chloe was there and Hilary was right next door, that everything was fine and she was safe. She had a hard time going to sleep but she eventually did around midnight.

Hilary checked on the kids around 1am and they were fast asleep. So she texted Garcia letting her know that Bella was okay.

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Bella woke up multiple times that night. She barely slept and was exhausted in the morning. She went to school and around 10 she couldn't help it and fell asleep during math class. Chloe woke her up and she looked embarrassed but she was so tired that about 10 minutes later she was out again. After school was over she went to Hilary's house. The math teacher told the principal about the girl sleeping during class and the man called Morgan. He explained what had happened and Derek told him she had a hard time going to sleep at night because of everything that was happening. The man was very understanding and said there wouldn't be any punishments or warnings.

Derek told Penelope what happened and they talked to Hilary and asked her to just keep an eye on Bella.

"We need something to cheer her up" Derek said.

"Yeah. I don't see her really excited about anything anymore" Penelope said.

"Maybe you could travel somewhere" Rossi said.

"We just got her out of the house. I don't know if she's ready for traveling" Derek said.

"Yeah" JJ said.

Everyone agreed they had to find something to give her a little spark again.

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All afternoon Hilary paid attention to see if Bella was eating okay and playing fine with the girls and she saw Bella seemed alright. She was acting normal. After dinner the kids watched a movie and then went to get ready for bed. Penelope had told Hilary that Bella need her bandage changed so the woman went to get the things while the girl showered. Chloe and Millie were ready for bed.

Bella walked out of the bathroom ad when she got to Chloe's room she froze. She saw the things on the bed and her eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Bella, Penelope said I need to take care of your back" Hilary said. Garcia told her Bella would probably cry a little but that it wasn't hurting so bad anymore.

"Come on honey. I'll do it really quick. It won't hurt" Hilary said.

"No" Bella said and the tears started rolling. She wasn't scared it would hurt. She just didn't want Hilary to see her back.

"Oh honey. It's okay" Hilary said walking to her.

"No. Please. It's fine. You don't have to do anything" Bella cried.

"Honey. It won't hurt. Calm down" Hilary said giving Bella a hug.

"Come on" she said.

"No. I'm not doing it" Bella said.

"Bella. They told me you have to" Hilary said.

"No" Bella cried and took a few steps back.

"It won't hurt" Chloe said.

"I'm not doing it" Bella said firmly.

"Bella please don't do this honey. We have to, come on" Hilary said and Bella simply ran away. She ran to the bathroom and locked herself in. She couldn't stop crying. Hilary and Chloe ran after her but they weren't fast enough. Hilary didn't have an emergency key so she just got her phone and called Penelope. She didn't know what else to do. She explained what was going on and Penelope was also unsure of what to do so she handed the phone to Morgan. He told Hilary he would call Bella's doctor and see if she could do it. He knew Bella probably just didn't want Hilary to be the one doing it.

He called Doctor Sullivan and the woman said she was just leaving work and would stop by. So he called Hilary to let her know.

"Can I talk to her?" Derek asked.

"Sure" Hilary said. "Bella your uncle Derek is on the phone" she told Bella.

Isabella opened the door slightly and grabbed it.

"What?" She said upset. She just wanted to go home.

"You don't want her to see your back or are you scared is going to hurt?" He asked.

"The first one" Bella said.

"Okay. Look I get it. And I'm not upset at you at all honey. I understand. Okay?" He said.

"Okay" she said.

"Doctor Sullivan will stop by in a little while to do it. And you have to let her. Do you hear me?" He said.

"Yes" Bella said.

"If you don't than I'll be upset" Derek said. "Be good, okay?" He said.

"Okay" Bella said. Derek's heart broke with the way she sounded.

"Let me talk to Hilary" he said. Bella opened the door again and handed the phone back. She closed the door faster than she opened it.

They stayed quiet till the doctor go there.

"Hi I'm Hilary" Hilary said.

"I'm Sarah, or Doctor Sullivan." The doctor said. "Where is she?"

"In the bathroom" Hilary said.

They walked there and the doctor said at the door "Bella. It's me. Sarah. Open it up honey"

Isabella opened the door and didn't look up.

"Can I come in?" Sarah asked and Bella nodded. "Alright. Let's do this" Sarah said with a smile.

"Shut the door" Bella whispered. Hilary walked in and went to shut it.

"Don't stay" Bella told her.

"Honey it's just me" Hilary said a little confused.

"No. I don't want you here" Bella said upset and suddenly it hit Hilary. She just knew Bella didn't want her to see it so she said "I'll be right outside if you need anything" and walked out closing the door behind her.

"Come on. Sit here" Sarah said closing the toilet and Bella sat on it. The woman helped Bella take her shirt off and then took the bandage out.

"Oh honey this looks so much better" Sarah said. Outside Hilary smiled but inside Bella just looked really sad.

Sarah faced the girl and said "you didn't want her to see it?"

Bella nodded yes and just started crying. Doctor Sarah wrapped her in a hug.

"I just wanna take it out" Bella said.

"I know. We're gonna let it heal first and then we'll take it out somehow, okay?" Sarah said and Bella nodded.

"Alright let's clean this up" Sarah said letting go of the hug. Bella wiped her face and the doctor started. She cleaned it and Bella flinched a few times and cried a little because it stung but it didn't hurt so bad. Sarah then put cream on it and covered it. She put the other cream on Isabella's entire back and helped her put her shirt on.

"All done" Sarah said with a smile. Bella still had a few tears streaming down her face. "Do you need a hug?" The woman asked and Bella nodded. Sarah wrapped her in her arms again.

"You did so good." She said and Bella just stayed quiet. "Do you want to see if I can stay for a little while?" Sarah asked as she saw the girl still looked really scared and tensed.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Alright. Come on" Sarah said and they went outside.

Hilary had heard and as they walked out she said "why don't we all sit on the couch for a while"

Sarah grabbed Bella's hand and they walked to the living room. Bella sat right next to the woman.

"Come here" doctor Sullivan said pulling Bella to her lap. She had seen Emily and Morgan doing it so many times that she was confident she could do it to. "Lay down" she said and Bella slightly laid down on the woman's arms.

"Is this how he holds you?" She asked and Bella nodded. Chloe ran to her room and got back with Bella's blanket.

"Here" she said and handed it to the woman who gave it to Bella. Isabella looked extremely embarrassed but she felt like she needed to be held that night so she just tried to relax.

Hilary pulled Chloe to her lap. "Thank you baby" Hilary thanked for the blanket.

"Are you tired?" Sarah asked Bella and she nodded yes. "You can close your eyes. It's okay. We're right here" she said and Bella closed it. The doctor held her and soothed her hair till she fell asleep.

"She's out" Hilary said when she noticed. Sarah smiled. She knew she could do it.

"Let's go to bed Chloe. It's a school night" Hilary said and Chloe went to bed.

"Where can I put her?" Doctor Sullivan asked.

"Chloe's room is fine" Hilary said and guided the woman there. She placed Bella on the bed and the girl woke up.

"I'm going now, okay?" Doctor Sarah whispered and Bella nodded. "I'll see you sometime. Sleep tight" Sarah said and Bella closed her eyes again. The doctor pulled the covers up and followed Hilary to the door.

"Thank you for everything" Hilary said. She was amazed by everything woman did.

"It's alright. Anything just call me" Sarah said. "Here" she said and handed Hilary her card.

"Can I ask you something?" Hilary said.

"Sure"

"How did you know holding her would help?" Hilary asked.

"I've seen her mother and agent Morgan doing that. It always worked so.." Sarah said and Hilary smiled.

"Thank you" Hilary said.

"No problem. She's a wonderful little girl. She deserves to be okay. To feel okay" Sarah said.

"Yeah" Hilary agreed.

"I'll see you sometime then" Sarah said.

"Bye" Hilary said.

"Bye" Sarah said and left. She felt good she was able to help. And that right there was what her work was about.

 **.**

Bella ended up sleeping well that night. She only woke up once but fell back asleep shortly.

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 **(Tuesday)**

The next morning, Isabella was extremely embarrassed and sorry for what had happened. She sat with them for breakfast and stayed very quiet. Once they were done, Hilary went to prepare Millie a sandwich for lunch while the girls got their bags. Bella went up to her and apologized for the night before.

"Oh honey it's alright. I understand what happened. It's okay" Hilary said and hugged Bella. "You don't have to show it to anybody. And you could have just told me and we would've figured out something" Hilary said and let go of the hug. "You can just tell me. You don't have to hide things, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said.

Hilary smiled. "Do you want a sandwich too?" She asked.

"Sure" Bella said.

"Go see if Chloe wants one" Hilary said and Bella went.

They finished getting ready and headed to school.

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Around 8:30am, the team got back.

Derek and Penelope headed home and finished Garcia's room. Derek left Penelope decorating it and went to cook some lunch.

Derek decided to grab some chips for them so he went to Isabella's place in the kitchen. He opened the little door and on a Mac and cheese box there was a big Labrador staring at him. He smiled as he had the perfect idea.

He grabbed the box and ran to Garcia's bedroom.

"I'm done" Penelope said as he entered. He kind of got lost in the room until Garcia noticed the box.

"Are you making us Mac and cheese?" She asked.

"Oh. No" he said and laughed. "It's this" he said pouting to the dog on the bag.

"A dog?" Garcia said confused.

"Yeah. A dog." He said making a face as if it was just so obvious.

Suddenly it just clicked. "A dog!" Penelope smiled.

"It's perfect. She'll have something to look forward to when she comes home and to get out of the house" Derek said.

"It's perfect" Penelope said. "And Sergio got along so well with Bowie" she added.

"We just need one rule" Derek said.

"What?" Garcia asked.

"We need to let HER take care of it." He said. "She'll will feed it, bath it, and walk it. We'll guide her of course but the dog will be her responsibility" He said.

"Fine by me" Penelope smiled. "But what will happen to it when we have cases?" She asked.

"He'll stay in the house and if we both need to leave for a while we can take it to a dog hotel. We'll figure it out" Derek said. He wanted to do that for Bella. He really wanted to.

"So what dog are we getting?" She asked excited.

"I was thinking maybe a golden retriever? I had one when I was young. They are great dogs for kids" Derek said.

"Awww can we get it today?" Penelope asked.

"Sure." Derek laughed. "Go look for it online while I finish lunch. I'm sure they're not that hard to find."

And he was right.

Penelope found several places that sold them and after checking their registrations and everything Penelope had a place. So they had lunch and headed there.

 **.**

"Oh my god. I can't believe I'm getting a dog" Derek said as they walked inside the place and let out a laugh.

They looked at some puppies and ended up choosing a yellow golden retriever.

"Let's get a pink bow! Bella is gonna love her so much" Garcia smiled holding the puppy in her arms.

They paid for it, got her papers and headed to the pet store. They got a crate, a pink bed to match Bella's bedroom, two bowls, a few toys, a light pink leash and collar, a big pink bow and then they paid and went home.

They put the crate in the corner of Bella's bedroom and set everything in there. They sat with the dog for a while and both were very excited to see the girl's reaction.

At 3:15 Derek went to pick Bella up and Garcia stayed home with the dog.

"Wait in her room" Derek said and left.

Bella walked out of the school and felt such relieve when she spotted him.

"Bye guys" she told her friends quickly and ran to the man.

Derek lifted her up.

"I missed you" he said.

"I missed you too" Bella said wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt like she could relax again. She felt safe. "Where's penny?" She asked.

"She's at home waiting for us with a surprise we got you" Derek said smiling and he put her down.

"What surprise?" Bella asked.

"Let's go see" he said and they walked to the car.

"How was school?" Derek asked as they buckled up.

"Fine I guess" Bella said and Derek started driving.

"Did you sleep okay yesterday?" He asked.

"Yeah. I just woke up one time" Bella said. "You're really not mad, are you?" She asked feeling bad.

"No honey. Of course not. I told you I understood why you did what you did" he said.

Bella stayed quiet.

"But you shouldn't be ashamed of it Bella" he said. "There's nothing wrong with having scars. I have some too" he said.

"But this is different" Bella said. "I want it to go away" she said serious.

"And it will. We'll take care of it. I promise" Derek said and she nodded yes then stared out the window.

She was quiet the rest of the drive.

When they got home Derek grabbed her hand and took her to the bedroom.

"Surprise" he said as she was about to walk in. Bella opened the door and stared at Penelope looking confused. Then she saw the adorable puppy laying on the bed.

"What is that?" She asked looking even more confused.

"A dog" Penelope said excited.

"What?" Bella said in some sort of denial.

"That's your dog" Derek said walking inside the room while Bella stayed at the door.

The girl's eyes filled with tears.

"You got me a dog?" She asked and started crying.

"Yeah. Come pet her" Derek smiled getting the dog.

Bella walked to him crying and sat on the bed. He placed the dog on her lap and she just cried.

"Oh my god! You got me a dog" she said just staring at it. "Is he really mine?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Derek said.

"And it's a girl" Garcia added with a big smile.

"Thank you" Bella said with a big smile. The first genuine smile since everything happened. Suddenly the dog started licking her neck and then her face and she bursted out laughing.

Morgan and Penelope's eyes were full of tears but it was from happiness. Oh what they would pay to see that girl laugh and smile like that every day.

"Do you like her?" Derek asked.

"Yes." Bella said and wiped her face and kissed the dog.

"But the dog comes with some rules, okay?" Derek said.

"What rules?" Bella asked.

"She's your dog so you have responsibilities. Like feeding her, bathing, walking, all of that is on you" Derek said.

"Okay" Bella said still smiling. She couldn't stop smiling she was so happy. She already felt like she loved that puppy.

"So you agree to do all of that in order to keep the dog? Cause if you don't do it she'll have to go away" Derek said.

"I'll do it! I promise I'll do it" Bella said desperately.

"Alright. She's your dog then" Derek said.

"Thank you Uncle Morgan" Bella smiled.

"You're welcome princess" he said and gave Bella a hug. Penelope went and hugged them too. Bella laughed.

"You gotta name her" Penelope said and Bella smiled excited.

"Can we call her Lulu?" Bella said. She had always said that when she had a girl dog she would name it Lulu.

"Lulu?" Penelope asked with a smile.

"Yeah. She looks like Lulu, doesn't she?" Bella said.

"She actually does" Derek laughed.

"Lulu Prentiss Garcia Morgan" Penelope said. "I like it"

Bella laughed and said "me too" she lifted the dog up and faced her "hi Lulu" she said with her "dog" voice and a smile. The dog licked her nose and she laughed.

"Thank you so much" Bella told Derek and Penelope.

"We're glad you liked" Garcia said.

"And you better take very good care of her, okay? Cause she needs you, huh?" Derek said.

"I will. I promise I will" Bella said confident.

Derek smiled at her. He was just so happy it went so well.

"Alright, so how about homework? And then we could take her to the park maybe?" Derek said.

"Fine" Bella said making a sad face that she had to do homework. "Can she stay on my bed with me while I do it?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Derek said. "But you have to do the homework and please don't let her eat it, okay?" He said and Bella laughed.

"okay" Bella said and Derek and Penelope walked out of the room.

"Well... You are a genius" Penelope said. "She's so happy"

Derek smiled big.

"And so are you" Garcia said and they laughed.

They sat to watch some tv and once Bella was done with the homework they went to the park. To Bella's favorite park.

Derek and Penelope couldn't believe the little girl was running around with the dog and had a big smile on her face. A smile they had not seen in a long time.

Derek just knew he had made the right decision getting the dog. He knew the dog wouldn't take Isabella's pain away but he knew she would help. He could see that spark on the child again and he was really happy.

As Bella ran around and played with Lulu, she felt relaxed and happy. She felt safe and loved. She looked at Garcia and Morgan and both were just smiling big watching her play with the dog. She was really glad she had them.

She stopped running and grabbed Lulu. She walked to them and hugged both.

"I love you" she told them. It was true and heartfelt.

"We love you too" Penelope said and kissed the top of Bella's head.

Lulu barked for the first time and they laughed.

"I guess she also loves us too" Garcia said and Bella laughed.

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They stayed at the park for a long time and then Bella got a bit tired so she asked to go home. Derek could see that it was because she was tired and not because she was scared. So they went.

She showered and sat on the couch while the puppy slept in her arms. They had dinner, watched doctor who and then it was time for bed.

"Can she sleep on my bed tonight?" Bella asked carrying her puppy as Derek and Penelope walked with her to the bedroom.

"She needs to learn not to pee everywhere so that's what the crate is for. She needs to sleep in there" Derek said.

"Just tonight? Please" Bella begged. "I'll promise I'll clean it up if she pees" she added.

"Just tonight" Derek said and smiled. Bella smiled and got on the bed with the puppy. She placed Lulu next to her and Derek sat on the bed to tuck her in.

"Did you have a good day?" He asked.

She nodded yes with a small smile.

"Do you remember all the rules?" Derek asked.

"Yes" Bella said and smiled.

"Alright. Goodnight" Derek said.

"Have a nice night you two pretties" Penelope said giving Bella a kiss on the forehead and Lulu a gentle pet.

"Thank you again for her" Bella said.

"You're welcome princess" Derek smiled. "Goodnight" he said and stood up.

"Goodnight" Bella said and Derek turned the night light on and the ceiling light off, then they walked out.

"I love you Lulu and I promise I'll take care of you, okay?" Bella told the dog, who just stared at her. She petted her new baby and soon both fell asleep.

Outside Derek and Penelope sat for a while in the living room. Both very thankful and happy about how the day went.

They just hoped Lulu would really help Bella somehow.

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* * *

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 _ ******** 3 months later...**_

It had been 3 months since Bella had gotten the dog and almost 4 since Emily's death. Bella was doing really well. It seemed like Lulu helped her way more than Derek had expected. The girl was a little bubbly thing again. She loved going to the park with her dog and teaching her tricks. She was truly doing amazing.

Of course there had been days she was really sad about her parents but most of the time she was okay. And even when she was down and just really sad, Lulu was always there with her.

That Monday night, Bella got home and nothing was different. Lulu was laying on the couch waiting for their arrival. The dog ran to the door and was super excited to see Bella, Derek and Penelope again. They showered, had dinner and sat to watch tv.

That night Bella laid once again next to her dog, who know used a bigger part of the bed which Bella loved even more. It turned out that Lulu was on the crate once. She cried a lot and of course Bella took her out and let her sleep on the bed. Derek tucked Isabella in as always and she fell asleep happy because of another great day.

Little did she know that her life was about to change all over again.

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 ****** Hey guys! It's finally time!**

 **What do you think/want Isabella's reaction to be? Do you think she'll be really sad, really happy, angry, mad?**

 **Please Please please tell me!**


	78. Chapter 78: Mama Is Here

…

"Hey I got your message" JJ said walking up to Hotch.

"It's time" Hotch said.

"Why? Morgan might be able to break Doyle without her" JJ said.

"Declan tried to make a call. She's on her way" Hotch said and JJ looked down nervously.

"Alright. I'll get Morgan." She said.

"I'll get the others" Hotch said.

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Bella was getting ready for school and Derek and Garcia were getting ready to work when Hotch called. He told Morgan to take Bella to the office because they had news on Doyle. Morgan had been working a lot trying to locate him, he felt like he owned Emily that.

"What's wrong?" Penelope asked as she saw Derek looked a bit nervous.

"Hotch called and he needs us at the office." He said. "It's about Doyle." He added and Bella just stared scared. She had just walked inside the kitchen.

"You're not going to school today, okay?" He said and Bella nodded. Even if she had too she felt right there that she couldn't go.

"Let's finish quickly and go" he told them. They ate quickly, gathered their things and headed out.

"Be good Lu" Bella told the dog as she petted her head and they went out the door.

Derek could see Bella was really nervous.

 **.**

They got to the BAU and the team was at the conference room.

"Good morning" Rossi said and Bella gave him a hug.

"How's Lulu?" Reid asked.

"She's good" Bella smiled.

"Everybody, have a seat" Hotch said. Bella took a seat around the table next to Reid and Isabella faced Hotch and couldn't help but look really nervous.

"Where's JJ?" Hotch asked and suddenly JJ walked in.

"Alright. We learned Doyle got Declan yesterday morning. Four agents arrested him right here in Virginia. They got him yesterday night but there are no signs of the boy. Doyle said someone took him" Hotch said.

"But he's arrested?" Garcia asked.

"Yes." Hotch said and Bella breathed out relieved. The team felt the same way.

But Rossi noticed Hotch's serious face.

"What's wrong?" Rossi asked.

"4 months ago I made a decision that not only affected the team but also others, including Isabella" Hotch said.

Isabella stared at him looking curious but a bit scared.

"As you all know Emily had lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle. But the doctors were able to stabilize her." He said and everyone stared confused. "She stayed in the hospital and her identity was hidden" he said and Bella was just confused.

Around the table the team was shocked with the new information.

"She's stayed there until she was well enough to travel. She was reassigned to Paris where she was given several identities, none of which we had access to for her security." He said. Bella just stared in disbelief.

"She's alive?" Penelope asked as her eyes filled with tears.

Isabella looked at her in shock. It finally hit her what Hotch was explaining.

Derek was shocked and angry, just staring at Hotch waiting for him to say it.

"But we buried her" Reid said.

"As I said I take full responsibility for the decision" Hotch said looking at Morgan. "If anyone has any issues they should be directed toward me" Hotch said looking around the table at everybody. Bella just sat there trying to process what was happening.

"Any issues?" Morgan said. "Yeah. I got issues"

Penelope looked at Bella who was still just staring at Hotch with tears in her eyes. Penelope heard footsteps and looked at the door.

And there she was, she just stood there. They all turned to face the door and Emily was standing there. She looked clearly sorry for everything.

"Oh my god" Penelope said as tears streamed down her face.

Bella turned to look too and when she saw Emily her heart sank. Her mother looked at her and Bella just slid under the table. Tears started falling as she hugged her knees.

Everyone just kept looking at Emily as they all weren't sure of what to do. Derek looked back at Hotch. He didn't know if he was angry, mad, sad or happy. He looked back at Emily and they just stared at each other. Emily had no idea of what to say to him. He had taken her daughter in, he had given her baby a family. He was her partner and she felt awful for lying to him, for hurting him.

Everyone was so in shock that no one noticed Bella went down.

Until JJ kneed down.

"Bella come out" JJ told her but the girl didn't even look at her and just kept crying. Morgan saw what was going on and went to her. He kneed down "come here Bella. Come with me" he said.

"No" Bella whispered and just cried. Emily's heart ached hearing her baby's voice.

"I'm right here. It's okay" Derek said.

"Bella, She is okay. She's here. That's all you've asked for" JJ said and put her hand on Isabella's arm.

"Get away from me!" Bella yelled at her. JJ stood up clearly hurt.

"Come" Derek said opening his arms for a hug and Bella just threw herself on him. He stood up with the child in his arms, she couldn't stop crying. Emily walked to them and put her hand on Isabella's back. The girl moved away.

"Bella, it's your mom. It's okay." Hotch said.

"No! My mom is dead! She's dead" Bella yelled crying.

"I'm so sorry for lying to you but we had to protect her. To protect both of you" Hotch said.

"No. She's dead. She's dead" Bella kept crying. Derek took her to the couch and sat down. Emily sat beside him. Isabella wouldn't take her face from his neck.

"Bella" Emily said and Isabella cried even more. The girl thought she would never hear her mother's voice again.

"I'm so sorry honey" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm not dead. I'm here" she said putting her hand on Isabella's back again, this time she didn't move away. "Come here" Emily said and pulled Bella to her lap. The girl was so confused with everything that she didn't even fight to stay with Derek. Emily pulled the girl to her lap and hugged her tight.

As Emily's sent filled Isabella's nose the girl couldn't stand. She started sobbing.

"It's you." Bella whispered between sobs.

"It's me baby" Emily said as tears fell down her cheeks too. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" Emily cried as she slightly rocked her daughter. She did that till Bella calmed down a little. The sobs had stopped but the girl couldn't stop crying.

After a while Bella went to Derek's arms again.

"I wanna go home" she whispered to him. She wasn't sure what she was feeling but she knew she need to go home, she needed Lulu, she needed to feel okay and safe.

"We'll go home soon" Derek said.

Emily wiped her own tears and then grabbed Isabella's hand and Bella pulled away and hid her face in Derek again. Bella felt some sort of relieve that her mother was right there but at the same time she felt sad and angry at Emily for leaving her and letting her believe she had lost her too. She was so confused by her emotions. But sadness was ruling.

Emily knew she had to give the girl some time to process things so she stood up and went to talk to the team. Rossi sat next to Derek and held Bella's hand. Derek made her sit between them so he could get up. She sat there and Rossi wrapped his arms around her.

Emily hugged Reid. "I'm so sorry. I really am..."she said as she let go and stared at Penelope. "Not a day went by that I didn't want.." Emily said and then she saw Derek standing there staring at her still in shock.

"Really I...you didn't deserve that" she said walking to him. "…and I'm so sorry" Emily said not knowing what else to said, giving him a hug. He stood there and placed his hand on her back still in shock she was actually there. Emily let go of him and they just stared at each other.

"I'm sorry" she said as tears filled her eyes again. Derek just gave her a nod.

"I wanna go home" Bella said and everyone looked at her.

"I have to... Umm" Derek said to Hotch walking towards Bella.

"We need to find Declan" Hotch told him as he picked Bella up.

"I don't need to do anything" Derek said serious but not angry.

"Derek" JJ said but Morgan just walked out carrying Bella in his arms.

"Let him" Hotch told JJ, and they knew the team would need some time.

Derek went to Rossi's office.

As much as he just wanted to go home he knew it wasn't safe now. He knew Doyle had people out there and no one really knew what was going on with Declan.

"I want to go home" Bella cried.

"We can't go home till we solve this. Doyle still has people out there. They know we have him and I'm sure they'll do something." Derek told her putting her down on the couch.

"To us?" Bella asked scared.

"No. I won't let anything happen to you" he told her. "But we need to stay here" he said sitting next to her and she hugged him and just cried. "It's going to be okay. I promise" he said.

"Why did they lie to us?" Bella asked.

Derek didn't know what to say. He took some time to think and suddenly Reid walked in.

"They are asking for you" Reid said. "I'll stay here with her" he said walking to the couch.

"No" Bella cried tightening her grip around him.

"It's okay honey. I won't be long" Derek said. Bella looked at him and she knew she could trust him so she let go. Spencer changed places with Morgan. Bella hugged Reid too and just kept silently crying.

Derek left the room and Bella asked Reid "why did they lie to us?"

He thought for a while and said "I don't know".

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Derek walked back inside the conference room and everyone was gathered.

"How is she?" Rossi asked and Derek just shook his head no.

Everyone felt awful, especially Emily and JJ.

"Garcia, that number I gave you to track earlier. Did you get anything?" Hotch asked. Garcia grabbed a laptop and accessed her system. "Yes" she said as an address showed up on the screen. She turned the computer to Hotch.

"We found him" Hotch said.

"Found who?" Derek asked a bit confused.

"Declan" Emily said sounding relieved.

"JJ, gather the agents. We need to get there now. Penelope, get me visual of the place" Hotch said walking out of the room and grabbing his phone. Garcia followed him.

"I need a gun" Emily said.

"There is no way you are going" Derek said.

"What? I have to" Emily said.

"No you don't" JJ said and Emily just stood there unsure of what to say. She felt like she had to go get Declan but at the same time she wasn't so sure she should go.

"You are not leaving this place until this is all over" Derek said serious and a little bit angry and then walked out of the room, Rossi followed him.

"That's best Emily" JJ said.

"How angry is the team?" Emily asked.

"They're in shock" JJ said. Emily of course knew that already. She took some time to think and then said "thank you".

"It is reeealy good to see you" JJ said and smiled.

Emily hugged her.

"Go be with your daughter" JJ smiled, she knew how much Emily wanted to go back and be with Bella. "We'll take care of it" she said.

Emily gave her a small smile and walked to Rossi's office. Penelope met her there with her laptop. They walked in to find Reid with his arms around the girl as Bella slept resting her head on his chest.

"She fell asleep?" Garcia asked placing the laptop on the desk.

Reid nodded yes and looked away from Emily. She felt awful. Both women walked in and sat down. Emily sat on the couch and Garcia on a chair close to it. Emily stared at Bella sleeping and wished she could just grab the girl and go home. Go back to how things were before.

"Thank you for everything you did Penelope" Emily said.

Garcia smiled as tears filled her eyes again.

"I'm so sorry" Emily said. "I didn't really have a choice"

"Yes you did." Reid said sounding angry. JJ was at the door.

"Spence" JJ said walking in.

"I'm sorry but you did have a choice. Both of you did. You could have told us." He said, his voice rising. Bella moved a little and he lowered it down. "You could have. But you chose not to"

"Reid it was not that simple" Emily said and suddenly Isabella's eyes shot open. She woke up from a bad dream. Bella's eyes wondered around the room and when they met Penelope's the girl got up and ran to her. Garcia held the child on her lap as Bella just cried. Emily got up and walked to them.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Emily asked her as she grabbed her hand. Bella moved away.

"Bella, it's your mommy" Penelope said.

"I want Derek" Bella cried.

"I know. He'll be right back" Garcia said.

"Where did he go?" Bella asked a bit confused. Garcia looked at JJ now knowing how to say.

"He went to get Declan" JJ said.

"What?" Bella asked. "No!" She cried even more.

"It's okay. He'll be right back" Penelope said trying to calm the girl down.

"No! He can't leave me too" Bella cried.

Everyone just stayed silent.

Reid stood up and walked to the door. JJ put her hand on his arm and he stopped.

"I'm sorry" she said. He just walked out of the room without saying a word. JJ felt awful for everything she had done. All those days Reid went to her house upset Emily was gone. All those days she caught Penelope crying because she missed Emily and because Bella was having a hard day. All those times she saw the pain on that child's eyes and felt like she had to tell her but she just couldn't. Her eyes filled with tears.

Emily sat back on the couch as Bella started calming down on Garcia's lap. Emily stared at JJ and JJ went and took the spot next to her. They just sat there till Bella fully calmed down. Penelope wiped the girl's face and Bella sat up straight. She looked at the couch and when she saw JJ she hid her face in Penelope again.

"It's okay, it's just JJ and your mom" Garcia said but Bella kept hiding her face.

"Bella, I'm so sorry." JJ said. "I wanted to tell you. I really did. But I couldn't" she said.

"Yes you could" Bella said angry and stared at the woman.

"I couldn't" JJ said serious.

"Yes. You. Could." Bella said loudly.

"Bella" Emily said.

"You could but you just didn't! YOU let me think she was dead! YOU lied to MY face! You did!" The girl said rising her voice. "You should have told me! What difference would that make for you? You let me believe I was an orphan" Bella kept yelling as tears rolled down her face. She was yelling at JJ's face.

"Bella" Emily said serious.

"And you shut up!" Bella said and stood up. "I hate all of you! You Liars" she yelled and ran out. Emily didn't think twice. She ran after her.

Bella was almost at the stairs when Emily wrapped her arms around the girl. Isabella started fighting her off as many tears streamed down her face. Penelope and JJ just watched from the door.

"Let me go! Get away from me" Bella said sounding angry but Emily just kept hugging her and suddenly the girl broke down. Bella just let go and fell onto Emily. The woman sat on the floor as the girl sobbed in her arms.

"You left me" Bella cried. "How could you leave me?" She cried.

"I'm so sorry baby" Emily said now crying too.

"I hate you" Bella said between sobs.

"No you don't" Emily told her and Bella just kept crying.

That cry broke Emily's heart and also the other two women watching the whole thing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I'm here now baby" Emily said pushing hair away from the child's face.

"Mommy" Bella cried staring at her mother's eyes.

"I'm here. Mommy is here" Emily said tightening the hug and slightly rocking Bella. "It's okay. It's okay" Emily said.

Suddenly Derek walked to them. He had heard Isabella crying.

"What happened?" He asked. When the girl heard his voice she let go of Emily, stood up and ran to his arms. He picked her up and she hid her face, sobbing into his neck.

"It's okay. You're okay. I got you princess" he told her as he ran his hand on her back.

Emily stood up.

"I thought you went with them" JJ said.

"No. I couldn't" he said and they all knew why. It's was Bella of course.

"Can we take her home?" Garcia asked.

"Not yet" Derek said still running his hand on Isabella's back. She was calmer now but still crying. He put Bella down but she didn't let go of him. "Hey" he said. "Bella look at me" he said and she looked up. "There's someone waiting for you in my office" he said with a little smile. Bella knew exactly what it was. She let go of him and just ran.

Garcia smiled also knowing exactly who it was.

"Who is it?" JJ asked.

"Lulu" Derek said serious and walked after the girl. JJ was clearly feeling hurt and awful but together with Emily and Penelope she followed him.

Bella ran inside Morgan's office and saw the dog on the couch. She ran there and hugged her and just cried. Derek walked in and said "Hotch said she can stay here with us today"

Bella laid on the couch and the dog laid right next to her. Derek had asked a friend to stop by his house and get the dog.

Emily, Garcia and JJ walked in. Emily smiled when she saw Bella snuggling up to the dog.

"Who's this?" Emily asked. She knew about the dog but thought maybe it would be best to let Bella talk and introduce them.

But Bella stayed quiet.

"This is Lulu" Derek said when he saw Isabella would not say anything.

"Lulu?" Emily smiled and took a seat on a chair next to Derek's. "You always said you'd name your dog Lulu" she said smiling as she remembered all those times Bella would say "when I have a girl puppy she'll be called lulu".

Isabella just looked away. She was hurt. She felt like she loved her mother but hated her at the same time.

"So... How old is Lulu?" Emily asked.

Derek looked at Bella and raised his eyebrows looking at her in a way that told her to say answer. As much as he was upset about the whole situation he knew how much that child loved her mother and he wanted Bella to have her mom again.

"5 months" Bella said, her voice really low.

"She's so cute." Emily said. "Is it okay if I pet her?" She asked trying to somehow get close to her daughter again.

"No" Bella said serious and hid her face on the dog.

Derek just looked sorry at Emily.

"It's okay" Emily mouthed. Of course she was hurt but she knew that would be hard coming back. But she was happy to be there.

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They waited in Derek's office for about an hour and Isabella refused to leave the couch. After she hid her face on Lulu's back she stopped talking. Everyone was very understanding and knew she was obviously upset so they let her be.

After some time JJ got a call from Hotch. He told her they got Declan and where heading to the BAU. Four men got arrested and Interpol had taken over. Emily's friend Clyde had taken over and promised no one would ever hear from Doyle again. JJ hung up and looked relieved.

"They found him. They're coming here" she said.

Emily's heart pounded fast. It had been so long since the last time she saw Declan. She made sure the boy had everything he possibly needed and she felt happy that he turned out nothing like his father.

"Can we go home now?" Isabella whispered to Penelope who was now sitting on the couch where Bella was laying down. The girl had her feet on Penelope's lap.

"We'll go soon" Penelope whispered back and Bella hid her face again.

They waited for the rest of the team to arrive and it wasn't long till Hotch walked inside Morgan's office with Declan walking right beside him.

"Declan" Emily said with a smile when she saw the boy. He ran to her and they hugged. Bella took a peek and hid again.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked him.

"Yes" Declan said. The blonde 12 year-old smiled at her with his big blue eyes. Emily smiled as she saw he was still just a little boy. She felt sorry for him. She knew he was a good kid and didn't have anything to do with the life his father chose. She felt like she wanted to take care of him but with Bella she knew it wouldn't be a good idea. For her luck one of her friends that used to raise Declan as his own son, together with the boy's old nanny, was traveling to DC to get him.

"How's everything in here?" Rossi asked Emily, looking at Bella.

"okay" Emily said.

"Is that your daughter?" Declan asked when he saw Bella.

"Yes, that's Bella" Emily smiled and he smiled back. She had talked about Bella when she last visited Declan, about 2 years before that.

"Excuse me" a woman said at the door and everyone looked at her. Everyone but Bella.

"There's a Mister Tom Coller here looking for Agent Prentiss" she said.

"Let him in" Emily said. He was the man that helped raise Declan. He was the boy's adoptive father.

"Let's go to the conference room" Hotch said. He knew they had a lot to talk and Derek's office wasn't the best place for that, especially since Bella was there and was very upset with everything. They walked out and before Emily followed she looked at Morgan and Garcia, unsure she should go.

"We got it" Penelope said with a small smile and Emily walked out.

Bella looked around and saw she was alone with both of them. She sat up and asked "is he okay?"

"He's going to be fine" Derek said.

Bella stood up and went and sat on his lap. She rested her head on his chest.

"What's gonna happen to me now?" Bella asked him.

He wasn't sure.

"What do you want to happen?" He asked.

"I wanna stay with you" she said looking at him as her eyes filled with tears.

"Okay." He said. "You'll stay till you're ready to go home with her, okay?"

"Okay" she said and started crying.

"I promise you it's going to be okay" he said as tears filled his eyes. Penelope walked to them and sat on the chair next to him.

"Look at me" Garcia said and Bella looked.

"I know you're scared and probably mad but she loves you. She loves you so so much and she's here" Penelope said and Bella looked down. "Isn't that what you wanted?" Garcia said.

"Did you know she was alive?" The girl asked still a bit confused with everything.

"No. No. Only Hotch and JJ knew" Garcia said.

"I just don't understand how they didn't tell us? Because they saw me and they …they knew and.." She said and started sobbing again.

"They had to make sure she was safe and she would stay safe so she could come back to us. To you" Garcia said.

Bella just kept crying.

"Bella" Derek said and made her sit up straight. "I know you're upset. I know you're angry... But she's here. And I know that she loves you more than anything. And I'm sure that you love her too. Don't you?" He said and she nodded yes.

"I know it's hard. It's hard for me too. And I'm angry and it's okay to be. It's okay" he said. "But she's here with us now and he's gone. And I promise you that I'll make sure that she's going to stay here. I swear to you that" he said. "Okay?"

"Okay" she whispered.

He wiped her face and said "it's okay be upset. We're going to go slow" he said.

"Okay" she said.

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At the conference room they talked to Tom and then the man left with Declan. Emily talked to Hotch and thanked him for the way he handled the entire situation.

"I think you should take your daughter home now" Hotch gave her a small smile glad it was all over. He knew how much she wanted that and how long she waited to have Isabella again.

She gave him a small smile back and walked to Derek's office.

It was 11:20am.

She found Bella on Morgan's lap and Penelope on the couch petting Lulu. She knew damn well that Bella was not about to grab her hand and go home with her.

"Hotch said she can go home" Emily told them trying not to look so sad.

Derek saw that and as much as he was really angry, he knew that there was nothing in the world that Isabella had wished for as much as she wished for Emily.

"Can she come?" Derek whispered in Isabella's ear. Bella nodded yes.

"You can stay at my house till you sort things out" Derek said knowing it would take some time.

Morgan stood up with the girl in his arms. "Let's go?" He asked Garcia who nodded and grabbed Lulu's leash.

"Thank you" Emily said and they headed to the car. Garcia grabbed Emily's hand and smiled happy to have her back. Emily smiled back and just hoped everything would be alright.

After everything they had been through she needed things to be alright.

…


	79. Chapter 79: Fixing Things

**Hey guys!**

 **I think this is the longest chapter I wrote!**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it and let me just tell you now that some big things will happen in the next few chapters *-***

 **Enjoy and please tell me what you think about everything that's going on =)**

 **Love, b**

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…

Penelope went on the back with Bella while Derek drove and Emily sat on the front with him. The girl hugged Garcia and didn't look up.

Since it was almost noon Penelope suggested they should stop at a drive-thru so no one would need to cook anything. So Derek drove to chick-Fil-a, got their things and headed home. Bella refused to choose what she wanted so Derek ordered what she usually had.

At home, they walked in and Bella started walking to her bedroom without saying a word. Penelope looked at Derek and Emily knowing that was not good. Penelope took Lulu's leash out and the dog followed Bella to the bedroom. Bella got inside and threw herself on her bed. She grabbed her blanket and held it tight and couldn't help but cry. She just could not believe that was happening to her. She was so confused. Confused about everything, about what exactly happened to Emily, and about her feelings.

Outside Emily said "let me" and went to the bedroom. Suddenly Derek and Penelope heard shouting.

Emily had gotten inside the room to find Bella laying on the bed crying and hugging her blanket and Lulu. She had walked closer to the bed and Isabella started yelling at her to get out.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked running inside.

"She's kicking me out. It's okay" Emily said and walked out.

"Are you okay?" He asked Bella.

"Yes" she said serious as tears rolled down her face. "Shut the door" she said sounding mad.

Derek walked out and shut the door. He knew the child needed to think about everything.

"Is she okay?" Emily asked him sorry for the girl's sudden outburst.

"She'll be alright" Derek said and they walked to the kitchen.

They sat to eat and as Penelope and Emily talked, Derek didn't say a word. Once he finished eating he said "I'm gonna take this to her" and went to Isabella's bedroom with her food.

"He's so mad at me, isn't he?" Emily said.

"Don't worry he'll be okay. We're just glad you're back" Penelope said.

"Garcia. Your optimism is not really umm..." Emily said and Penelope turned serious.

"Look Em. We love you. But we were hurt really bad when you died. I mean when you left and we thought you died. And I know that it must have been so hard for you too. All alone in Paris and... I know it must have been awful but you have no idea how things were here. And of course he's upset. He saw how hard this was on everyone... Especially Bella" Penelope said and Emily's eyes filled with tears. She never wanted to hurt them. "You don't know how many nights she cried because she wanted you and we... We felt powerless. He tried so much to help her feel better and I guess knowing that she possibly could have not gone through all of that pain is upsetting him." She said.

Suddenly Derek walked back in the kitchen.

"Time my friend. Time helps" Garcia said and Emily nodded.

Suddenly Garcia saw he still had the food.

"She didn't eat?" She asked.

"She fell asleep" Derek said putting the food inside the refrigerator. He had walked inside the child's room to find her hugging Tramp, Duffy, her blanket and also holding Lulu's paw with her hand.

"Why don't we go see her room then?" Garcia said.

"What? No she might wake up" Emily said unsure.

"She won't" Penelope said and they went there. Derek went to sit in the living room.

Penelope walked inside the room quietly and Emily followed her. Bella was passed out on the bed hugging her things.

Emily smiled as she saw Bella.

"That's adorable, isn't it?" Garcia smiled too.

"She really loves this dog" Emily said.

"She does" Penelope said.

Emily's eyes wondered around the room and she was impressed at how different it was from the one in her apartment. Everything was light blue and light pink.

"Somethings never changed" she said as she turned around and saw a big book shelf with lots of books and Disney plushies.

Garcia smiled and suddenly Bella moved a little on the bed.

Both women froze.

Once the girl stopped moving, Emily whispered "we should go" and they walked to the living room and sat on the couch.

"Thank you so much for that" Emily told Garcia. "Thank you for everything you did for her all this time" she added now looking at Morgan. He gave her a nod.

"Derek I'm so sorry" Emily said and he looked away.

"Look Emily" he said staring at her again. "I get that you had to disappear but I don't understand why you didn't tell us. If Hotch and JJ could know we could too. And I just ... I just cannot understand why you didn't take her with you" he said and Emily's eyes filled with tears.

"I didn't have a choice" Emily said.

"Yes you did. It's your life. It's your daughter's life" he said.

"Derek I didn't have a choice. They didn't give me one. I was in a coma. I woke up and JJ was there telling me everybody thought I died, telling me my daughter..." She said and started crying. "Telling me my daughter was living with you and Garcia. And I was in a hospital bed being sedated every time I tried to do anything. So when I say I didn't have a choice I'm telling the truth." She said and Derek just stared.

"You were in a coma?" Penelope suddenly asked with tears in her eyes.

Emily looked at her and wiped her own face. "Yes" she said.

"For how long?" Garcia asked.

"A few days" Emily said.

"And when you got better they sent you to Paris?" Penelope asked.

"Yes" Emily said. "I stayed there for a while and then I started moving around and changing names to make sure I was safe" Emily said.

Derek was just listening still processing what Emily had told him.

Suddenly the door bell rang.

"I'll go" Derek said and walked to the door. He opened it and it was JJ.

"Hi. I just came to give these to Emily" JJ said holding a few folders.

"She's in the living room" Derek said and JJ walked in.

"Hi. Is everything okay?" Emily asked.

"Yes. It's just your papers and house things and stuff like that" JJ said.

"Oh thank you" Emily said as JJ handed her the folders. JJ looked around the room and asked where Isabella was.

"She fell asleep" Garcia said and JJ gave her a nod clearly feeling sorry for the whole situation.

"Well, I should go now" JJ said.

"Thank you for this" Emily said holding the folders and JJ gave her a small smile and walked to the door. Derek followed her.

"Bye" she said.

"Goodbye" Derek said and went to close the door.

"Morgan" she said and he stopped midway through it and opened it again.

JJ took a step closer to him and said "I'm so sorry I wasn't allowed to"

Derek didn't say anything.

Suddenly JJ looked inside the house and saw Isabella peeking at them.

Derek noticed and looked back, when Bella saw him looking she closed her bedroom door.

"I should go" JJ said.

"Yes" Derek said and closed the door. JJ walked to her car and the tears started falling. She knew everyone was mad at her.

Derek went to Isabella's bedroom and found her back on the bed.

"JJ left" Derek said sitting down close to her and Bella sat up.

"Why don't you go eat your lunch now?" He said and she shook her head no.

"Not hungry?" He asked and she shook her head no again and sat on his lap.

"Do you think you can come sit with us then?" He asked and she nodded yes.

"Let's go" he said and they got up and headed to the living room. Lulu followed them.

"Hi Bellie" Penelope said with a smile but Bella stayed serious.

Derek sat on the couch and Bella sat next to him. He threw his arm around her and Garcia turned the tv on. Lulu laid next to the couch Bella was in.

"Is she always like this?" Emily asked looking at the dog.

"Yeah" Derek and Penelope said in unison and Emily smiled.

Emily was sitting next to Penelope on the other couch and the whole time they watched tv Bella was peeking at her and then pretending she wasn't. Everybody noticed but no one said anything. They all knew they had to let her go in her own time.

Around 5, Hotch called Morgan and told him everyone on the team was suspended and was under investigation due to Emily's situation and Doyle's case.

"I'll call you when I have more news" Hotch said and hung up.

"What happened?" Garcia asked.

"We just got suspended and Hotch said they'll be investigating us too" Morgan said a little upset.

"Because of this?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Morgan said. Bella kept staring at the tv.

"Honey I need to fill some papers really quick" Derek said standing up. Bella just sat there and stared at the tv. Derek printed out the papers and then sat to fill them up. When he was done, Penelope said Bella must be hungry and suggested they should order pizza.

"Would you like that, pumpkin?" Garcia asked Bella who just moved her shoulders.

"Alright, pizza it is" Garcia said already used to that type of behavior from the girl. That was always how she answered that question when she was having a hard day.

Penelope ordered the food and sat back in the living room, Derek finished what he was doing and sat with them too. After about half an hour the pizza got there. They ate and Bella was quiet the whole time. Once Bella was done she said "I'm going to bed"

"Already?" Penelope asked. "It's so early and you've taken a long nap" she said but the girl kept walking to her bedroom.

"I'll go" Derek said and went after Bella.

"Does she uses the silent treatment a lot?" Emily asked.

"Just sometimes. We kind of learned how to read her I guess" Garcia said and Emily smiled.

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Derek walked inside Isabella's bedroom and she was in the bathroom changing her clothes. She walked back in to find him sitting on her bed.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No" she said as she was stating the obvious.

"Me neither" Derek said.

She got on the bed and asked him to lay down with her. He covered her up and laid down. She grabbed her blanket and snuggled up to Derek and he threw one arm around her.

"Everything will be okay" he said tucking her hair behind her ear, and she just stayed quiet.

Derek kept running his hand on her arm until she fell asleep.

He got out of the bed. Pulled the covers up and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight" he whispered. He turned the night light on and the ceiling light off, closed the door and walked out.

"She's asleep" he said as he walked in he living room again.

He sat down on the couch and everyone stayed silent. Things felt really tense.

Emily felt like she wanted to talk, she wanted to know how Bella had been doing. Of course she had heard from JJ but she knew the woman didn't know everything, she knew there were things Morgan and Garcia probably didn't tell anyone but would likely tell her.

"So umm... Is she okay?" Emily said unsure of how to start.

"She'll be fine. Don't worry" Garcia said. "Time, remember?"

"How was she with everything that happened? I know it must have been... really hard" Emily said unsure of what to say.

"In the beginning it was" Derek said. He felt like she had to know. "She was trying to be strong. She tried going to school and going out but it was hard. As time went on she was a bit better and then when we got Lulu she really started improving. It was like a boost" he said.

Emily smiled.

"I don't think I can ever thank you two enough for everything you have done" Emily said.

"You don't have to thank us. She's family" Penelope said and Emily smiled as her eyes filled with tears.

"You are family" Derek said.

Suddenly they heard a door opening and Isabella ran to them.

Instead of going straight to Morgan's arms like she usually did, she ran to Emily.

And she just sobbed.

Emily wrapped her arms around her and held her in her lap as Bella sobbed.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry baby" Emily said as her eyes filled up.

"Mommy I don't hate you. I love you. Please..." She said unable to finished. "Please don't leave me again" she cried.

"No baby. No. I'm not going anywhere" Emily said slightly rocking the child. Garcia and Derek just watched.

"And I know you love me. I know. It's okay" Emily said and Bella just kept crying.

Suddenly Emily asked "Bella, are you mad at me?"

Isabella just cried.

"It's okay, you can tell me." Emily said. "Are you mad?"

"Yeah" Bella cried.

"It's okay to be" Emily said. "It's okay to be but I need you to know that I love you. That mommy loves you so so much. And that I never stopped loving you. All I did was to make sure we would both be safe. We would both be okay" she said. "Do you understand that?"

Bella just cried.

"Baby sit up" Emily said and Bella sat up. "Look at me" she said and Isabella did what she was told. "Do you understand?" Emily asked again.

Bella just stared. The truth was that she didn't know for sure if she understood. She was confused and she had so many questions. Derek saw she wasn't going to answer Emily's question and he also knew she was confused because even he was.

"Bella" he said walking to them and kneeing down in front of Bella. He needed to explain to her that Emily really didn't have a choice. He understood now and he needed her to understand that. He knew that the only way Bella could have a chance of forgiving Emily was if she could understand that.

"She explained things to us and she really did not have a choice" he said and Bella looked away. "Honey she didn't" he said and Bella stared at him. She trusted him more than anyone. She knew he wouldn't lie to her. Derek looked at Emily and she started to explain.

"I was hurt really bad. The doctor saved me but I was in something called a coma. Do you know what that is?" Emily said.

"When you can't wake up?" Bella asked still crying but the sobbing had stopped.

"Yeah" Emily said tucking a lock of hair behind the girl's ear. "I was like that for a while and when I woke up Hotch... Hotch had made sure Doyle would never find me again" she said.

"But couldn't you just come back?" Bella asked.

"I was very sick still and I couldn't leave the hospital, baby. I wanted to talk to you and I couldn't." Emily said.

"Bella, remember that medicine they gave you so you could sleep while they took care of you?" Derek asked and she nodded yes. "They were giving her that too so she would calm down"

"They sedated you?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily said wiping her own tears. "I talked to JJ and she explained to me everything that happened and I knew you were hurt. Your back... and I'm..." Emily said unable to finish as those memories of Bella being tortured filled her mind. She took a deep breath. "I was mad at them, I was mad at Hotch for his decision but when I stopped to think about It I knew you would be safer here. And as much as that hurt me I knew it was your best chance. And I owned you that. Everything we'd been through with your dad and your brother..." She said. "I owned you a normal life. A life you wouldn't have to run away all the time like I had to"

Bella sat there as tears streamed down her face. Penelope was crying too and Derek's eyes were full.

"Do you understand that?" Emily said. "That mommy had to go?" She asked almost unable to finish as she cried.

Bella nodded yes and turned to face her. Isabella had never seen Emily looking like that, looking so hurt.

"You're never gonna leave me again, right?" Bella asked crying.

"Never ever" Emily said hugging Bella as the girl kept crying.

"Only when you're very old?" Bella said and started sobbing again.

"Yes baby" Emily said crying to. She kept hugging Bella and suddenly the girl asked between sobs "can you hold me?"

"Of course I can. Of course" Emily said and sat back on the couch, Bella laid a bit and Emily just sat there holding her tightly.

"Shuuuu it's okay. I'm right here. You're gonna be okay. Everything is going to be okay" Emily said. Derek sat on the couch again and Garcia pulled Bella's legs to her lap. Everyone stayed quiet while Emily kept holding and slightly rocking the girl as she said shuuuu and promised things would be okay. Bella cried herself back to sleep.

After a while the house was quiet again.

Derek had been just staring at Emily and the girl.

"You have no idea how much she wanted that" he said.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked pushing hair away from the girl's face and then looking at him.

"Whenever she was having a bad day that's what she would say she wanted" Derek said. "She wanted you to just hold her" he said.

Emily's heart broke.

"We tried to help but she always said it was not the same" Derek said and suddenly he smiled.

"Why are you smiling?" Garcia asked confused.

"I'm just happy she has that again" Derek said and tears started to stream down his face. Garcia walked to him and hugged him. She was impressed and surprised he was crying. It was very hard to make that man cry. She let go of the hug and he wiped his face.

"You should stay in her room tonight" Derek said.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked and he nodded yes.

Emily looked at Bella and then said "Derek, could you carry her? I'm still not allowed to do that"

"Sure" Derek said. He went, picked Bella up and carried her to bed. Derek placed Bella down and covered her up.

"Do you need anything? A towel? Pajamas?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah I'd like that" Emily said thinking that she really could use a nice warm shower.

Penelope went to her own room and Emily followed her.

"This is nice" Emily said as she walked inside.

"Thanks. Your minion helped a ton" Garcia smiled and Emily smiled too. Penelope grabbed a few clothes and a towel and handed it to Emily. "I think these will fit" she said.

"Thank you" Emily smiled.

"You can use the bathroom on the right" Garcia said and Emily went there and got in the shower.

After a while Derek went to Penelope's room. "She's still showering?" He asked looking a bit worried.

"Yeah" Penelope said. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah. Yeah" he said. "I'm just worried"

"About Bellie?" Garcia asked.

"About both of them" he said.

"They'll be okay. They have each other now. And we're here. They'll be fine." Penelope said and suddenly they heard the bathroom door opening. Emily was done showering.

"Have a nice night, baby girl" Morgan said and wrapped Penelope in a hug.

"You too" she smiled as she relaxed in the embrace.

"Goodnight" he said letting go of the hug.

"Goodnight" she said and he walked out.

He went to Isabella's bedroom.

"Everything okay?" He asked Emily who was folding her clothes.

"Yeah" she whispered.

"Anything just go get me" Derek said and she nodded.

"Goodnight" he said.

"Goodnight" she said.

Derek went to his bathroom and got in the shower. As the hot water hit his head and back he couldn't stop thinking about everything. About Hotch and JJ lying to everyone like that, lying to a child like that.

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In Isabella's bedroom, Emily laid next to the girl and grabbed the child's hand. Bella squeezed Emily's hand in her sleep and that made Emily smile. Suddenly Lulu jumped on the bed.

Emily jumped surprised and Bella woke up. The girl saw Lulu laying at the end of the bed and then saw Emily sitting next to her.

"Stay with me" Isabella whispered.

"I'm right here. I'll sleep right by your side" Emily said getting closer to Bella. She laid down, threw one arm over the girl and said "go back to sleep baby, mommy is right here"

Isabella closed her eyes again, took her blanket to her face and relaxed. Soon she fell asleep again.

Emily laid there but she couldn't sleep. She was so happy to have Isabella again.

But at the same time she was scared. She was scared about what the future held for them. She had no idea how her life would be.

She had a really hard time going to sleep. She just stared at her baby for a long time till exhaustion caught her and she fell asleep.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Isabella had a hard night. She kept waking up and making sure Emily was still right there next to her and Emily would just say "it's okay. I'm here" and she would go back to sleep.

.

Around 8am Emily woke up and heard a noise in the kitchen. She went to the bathroom, changed her clothes and went to the kitchen.

"Good morning" Penelope smiled as she flipped a pancake.

"Good morning" Emily smiled back.

"Did you have a good night?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah." Emily said. She woke up several times but she had a good night. The best night she had in months.

"It was good being with your baby again" Penelope smiled and Emily let out a little laugh.

Suddenly Derek walked in.

"Hi. Good morning" he said putting his shirt on. "Sorry" he said as he noticed Emily's face and then he laughed.

Emily took a seat around the table and he sat facing her.

"Did you sleep alright?" He asked.

"Yes" she said.

"I was certain Bellie would wake up crying" Penelope said.

"I thought that too but she didn't" Emily said. "She woke up a few times but she wasn't crying or anything.

"She was just checking to see if you were there?" Derek said.

"Yeah" Emily said and Derek smiled. The girl did the same thing with him a few times.

"We should wake her up so she can sleep well at night" Garcia said.

"I'll go" Emily said and headed to Isabella's bedroom.

She walked in, sat on the bed next to Bella and started running her hand on the child's back.

"Bella" she sang and leaned over. "Wake up honey. Time for breakfast" she said and Bella opened her eyes. As soon as she saw Emily staring back at her she wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.

"Good morning" Emily said smiling.

"Good morning" Bella said and let go of the hug.

"Let's go eat?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes. Emily sat up again and Bella stretched, making her laugh. "Garcia made pancakes" Emily said with a smile. Bella got up and they headed to the kitchen.

"Good morning my sunshine" Garcia said wrapping Bella in a hug.

"Morning" Bella said, her voice a bit lower than usual.

Penelope let go of her and Bella walked to Morgan and took the seat next to him.

"Why don't you seat over there?" Garcia said pointing to the seat next to Emily.

"No. This is where I always seat" Bella lied. Derek just stared and Garcia gave her a little smile understanding she just didn't want to sit there.

"Alright. I forgot" Penelope said walking to the table holding a plate full of pancakes. "Here you go" she said putting the plate down. Bella grabbed one and poured some syrup in it. They all ate and had an okay time at breakfast. The girl didn't really talk much but all that tenseness was going away.

After breakfast Bella poured Lulu some dog food and filled her water bowl.

"Bella, Why don't you change your clothes and go take Lulu for a walk? It's a beautiful day outside" Garcia said.

"Later" Bella said and went to her bedroom. She wasn't really on the mood to go for a walk.

"I'll make sure she'll go later" Derek told Penelope.

"Okay" Garcia said.

Morgan went after Bella.

He walked inside her bedroom to find her on the bed again.

"Hey hey. Get up. No bed right now" he said. He already knew how it would go if he let her stay there. It always started with staying in bed, then there was no eating, and last the crying would come. "You're gonna change your clothes and we'll walk Lulu" he said.

"No" Bella said low.

"Do I need to take her to the cannel? Because you know the rules, right?" He said with a little smile but Bella didn't see.

"Why do you have to be like this?" She asked him as she sat up. "Why do you have to threaten me every time?" She said.

"Because it works" he said smiling.

She walked to him and they hugged.

"Are you going with me?" She asked.

"Yes" he said.

"Okay" she said.

"Alright. Then go change" he said and walked to the living room while Bella got ready.

"Im gonna walk around the block with Bella, okay?" He told Garcia and Emily who were in the kitchen.

"Okay" Penelope said.

"Can I go?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Derek said.

Suddenly Bella walked in. "I'm ready" she said.

"Can I come too?" Emily asked her just to make sure it was okay. Bella nodded yes and went to get Lulu's leash. Bella handed it to Morgan, he got the dog and they walked outside.

"Right or left today?" Derek asked.

"You can chose" Bella said.

"I feel like I need a donut so... Right" he said and started walking. Bella went to the inside of the sidewalk and grabbed his hand. He was so used to it that he didn't even noticed Emily looked surprised with their entire routine.

Instead of asking about it Emily just followed them.

The walk was very quiet. Derek said hi to a few neighbors but Bella just stayed quiet and payed attention to Lulu. Emily could see she wasn't very comfortable walking around the neighborhood but she was happy to see the girl was trying.

They got to a bakery and Derek said "you know what I like" and handed 10 bucks to Bella.

"Would you like one?" Bella asked Emily.

"Sure" Emily said and walked inside with Bella while Derek waited outside with Lulu. Isabella looked a bit embarrassed.

She went on and asked for the ones she wanted "can I have two chocolate ones and two of the original" she said.

"You sure can" a lady said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Bella asked Emily.

"Same as you" Emily said.

"Make three of each, please" Bella told the lady.

Suddenly a guy walked there.

"Hey Bella!" He said. "Turned right today?" He said and she smiled.

"Here you go" the lady said handing her the box of donuts.

"Thank you" Bella said handing the money.

"Where's my man Derek?" The guy asked.

"Outside with Lulu" Bella said.

"Oh and who is this pretty lady?" The guy asked.

"Don't even think about it Joey." Bella said and walked to the door.

"Who is he?" Emily asked.

"He owns this place" Bella said. Joey was a 44 year-old, regular white guy with a curly ginger hair. He was always very nice to Bella and she really liked him.

"Here" Bella said handing the box to Derek. They walked to a table outside and sat to eat.

Derek saw Joey inside and the man waved at him. Emily laughed and Bella smiled taking a bite of her donut.

"Did he hit on you?" Derek asked Emily.

"He tried" Bella said and Derek laughed. Emily smiled happy at how good her life felt at that moment.

She wanted to ask them everything about Joey and their walks but she was scared Bella might not really like that so she didn't ask.

They finished eating and then walked home.

 **.**

"Saved you my chocolate one" Bella said handing the box to Garcia who was sitting in the living room watching a movie.

"Oh thank you bunny" Penelope said grabbing it and taking a bite. Bella smiled and went to her room. Emily walked to the couch and sat next to Penelope.

"It's crazy this routine you three made" Emily said.

"Oh I didn't make anything. It was all Derek" Penelope said and smiled at Morgan who sat on the other couch.

"Was there a reason for that or..?" Emily asked.

"Kind of" Penelope said making a face. "Your bunny wasn't really into going out and when she started walking Lulu she had a really hard time whenever she got three or four houses down the road. So Derek made up this game of right or left" Garcia explained.

"A game?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. Right or left. Donuts or Churros" Derek explained. "It was to make her walk at least to those places and it works great"

Emily smiled. "That's adorable" she said.

"I know" Penelope smiled.

"Do you go every day?" Emily asked.

"No. Lulu does her stuff in the backyard and Bella cleans it up but taking the dog for a walk is good. For everyone you know" Penelope said.

"Yeah" Emily smiled. "Is there anything else like this that you guys do? Or something I should know?" She asked.

"Movie nights whenever we are back from a case, she's doing ballet every Monday and Friday after school, we go to the park every Saturday if we are in town and... I think that's it" Garcia said and Emily smiled.

"Baby girl you forgot one thing" Derek said and Emily looked at him. "She stays at Chloe's house every Monday, Wednesday and Friday till we're done working"

"Oh god Hilary" Penelope said as it hit her that someone had to tell Hilary about Emily.

"We should call her" Derek said.

"do you think Bella told Chloe already?" Emily asked.

"nop. Her phone is in my bag and she hasn't asked for it" Garcia said.

"So we should call and invite her over to explain." Derek said.

"yeah. We can't tell her over the phone" Garcia said and went to get the phone.

She called Hilary and explained she had something important to talk about so Hilary agreed to stop by around 2pm.

"She'll stop by before she goes to the school" Penelope told them after she hung up.

"What's Bella doing?" Asked Derek.

"she went to her room" Penelope said. Derek went to check on her. He found her petting Lulu and breathed out relieved.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I guess" Bella said.

"Are you still mad at her?"

"I think so" Bella said looking down.

"Hey it's okay. No one is expecting you to forgive everybody and just move on" he said. "Alright?"

"Alright" she said.

"Alright" he smiled. "But let's get out of this room. Come on" he said grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the bed. They went to the living room and sat to watch tv.

They watched tv, ate lunch and then sat in the living room again to wait for Hilary.

"Bella when she arrives we'd like you to stay in your room with your mom, okay?" Derek told her and she nodded.

After a little while Hilary arrived. Emily and Bella headed to the bedroom and the woman walked in. Derek and Penelope explained everything and she was very shocked. Hilary felt a bit angry for what Bella went through but as she thought about what she would have done she knew she would do the same thing. She understood Emily's reasons.

"Where is she?" Hilary asked.

"Bella's room" Derek said.

"Can I..?" Hilary asked and Penelope and Derek nodded.

The woman walked to Isabella's bedroom, opened the door and smiled when she saw Emily standing there. They hugged and Hilary let a few tears fall.

"I'm so glad you are okay" Hilary said letting go of the hug. Emily smiled.

"How are the girls?" Emily asked.

"they're good" Hilary said. "And how are you bella?" The woman asked the girl.

"Fine" Bella said looking embarrassed.

"Was this why you missed school yesterday?" Hilary asked and Bella said yes. Hilary smiled and then they went out of the room. They followed them out. Hilary walked to the door as she noticed it was almost time to pick her kids up.

"I'll tell the girls and maybe tomorrow we'll stop by" Hilary said. Everyone said goodbye and the woman left.

Bella went back to her bedroom and started crying. So many questions went through her mind. How would she explain that to her friends? How would she go to school? With who would she live now? She started to panic and her heart was beating fast, her breathing got heavy and her hands got sweaty.

Emily suddenly walked in and saw something was clearly wrong. She ran to Bella.

"It's okay baby it's okay" she said.

Bella was having a hard time breathing. "Head between your legs" she said and guided Bella but it didn't help.

"Derek" Bella cried.

"Derek come here!" Emily yelled. Derek ran inside.

"What happened?" He asked worried.

"I walked in and she was having a panic attack." Emily said.

Derek picked Bella up and she just sobbed into his neck. "Let's go outside" he said and walked to the back door. He went to the backyard and sat on a chair with Bella on his lap. "Just breath deep" he told her and she tried hard to. She rested her head on his chest and concentrated on her breathing. She started to calm down.

"Just breath" he told her again as he ran his hand on her arm.

After a while she calmed down but still had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

Bella moved her shoulders.

Derek tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I wanna go to bed" Bella said.

"Oh no princess. We have a rule. It's 3pm right now, it's not time for bed." Derek said and Bella just looked sad.

"Why don't we bake a cake?" Penelope said. "You wanted to bake that rainbow one remember? We bought the ingredient and everything" she said.

"That's a great idea" Derek said.

"Do you want to do that?" Penelope asked and Bella nodded yes.

They all smiled and headed to the kitchen.

Emily and Derek sat to watch them as Penelope and Bella baked. The girl was a bit quiet in the beginning but then she seemed alright. They finished it all and put the cake in the oven then sat to watch tv.

Midway through an episode of Doctor who Bella said she was going to shower. It was almost 5pm. She showered and when she walked back in the living room Hotch was there. She stared at him for a moment and then ran away to her room.

"I'll go" Derek said.

"No, let me" Penelope said already walking there.

She walked inside to find Bella sitting at lulu's bed in the corner of the room as the dog slept and she cried.

"Bella" Penelope said feeling bad.

"What is he doing here?" The girl asked.

"He came to talk to Emily and us" Penelope said. Bella felt her heart race again as all those questions filled her mind. She tried hard to concentrate on her breathing before it would get bad again.

Penelope saw it. It had happened so much that Penelope could just tell now.

"Come here. Just breathe" she said handing out a hand. Bella grabbed it, got up and laid on the bed with Garcia. Penelope ran her hand on the girl's back and Bella just cried.

"It's okay pumpkin" Penelope said.

"Can you please make it stop?" Bella begged. "I thought it went away" she said crying. It had been 2 months since the last time she had one. But now it had already happened a lot.

"It will go away, sugar. It's just because your mommy is back and your little head is going all over the place" Garcia said.

"Just breathe slow" she said. "Here" Penelope said grabbing Isabella's hand and placing it on her chest so the girl could copy her breathing. Bella paid attention and did just that.

After a while she calmed down.

"Why don't you take a bath?" Penelope asked.

"I just showered" Bella said.

"Why don't you give Lulu a bath then?" Garcia said. "She's starting to smell" Penelope laughed and Bella smiled. "Come on" she said and they stood up and went to bathe the dog.

Penelope knew that always put Bella in a good mood.

While Bella cleaned the dog, Penelope went to the living room and explained what had happened. Then Hotch told them about Isabella's papers and how the girl was Emily's again. Hotch explained everything and left.

Emily could tell Morgan looked nervous about that.

"Derek" she said and he looked at her. "I'm not going to make her go anywhere she doesn't want to"

Derek nodded. "She can stay as long as she wants" he said and walked to his bedroom. He felt that was a bit too much. He had gotten so attached to the girl. Bella was like his daughter. He saw her like that.

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Later that day Bella was feeling a bit better and after drying the dog and cleaning up the bathroom she sat with them to watch tv. Later at night they ordered Chinese and then ate the rainbow cake.

"This turned out better than I expected" Derek said.

"Yeah" Bella said taking a big bite of it.

"I see you approve" Derek laughed as he saw Bella had whip cream on her nose. She laughed and cleaned herself.

Emily smiled as that sweet laugh filled her ears. Oh how she missed that.

They finished eating and then they sat to watch tv again.

"Bella, are you going to school tomorrow?" Derek asked.

"No" Bella answered quickly.

"You know you'll have to go soon, right? You can't keep missing" he said and she looked down. He pulled her to his lap. "We've had multiple conversations about this. You know you can't miss" he said.

"I know" she said.

"So do you think you can go the after tomorrow?" He asked and she nodded yes.

"Okay" he gave her a little smile and kissed her cheek. She hugged him and hid her face.

Emily smiled at the scene.

"Can I go to bed now?" Isabella asked.

"Sure" Derek said. She got up and said goodnight to everyone.

"My turn" Penelope smiled and ran after Bella.

"It's her turn of what?" Emily asked a bit confused.

"Tuck Bella in" Derek said with a small smile and Emily smiled back. She wanted to go and do it but she let Penelope go.

Bella changed into pajamas and laid on the bed with Lulu. Penelope sat next to her, leaned over and hugged her.

"That you dreams be filled with rainbows, candy and unicorns" Penelope said and placed a kiss on the girl's head.

"Amen" Bella said and Penelope smiled.

"Goodnight" Garcia said.

"Goodnight" Bella said and snuggled her blanket and closed her eyes. Garcia turned the light off and walked out. Bella made Lulu go up a little higher on the bed and hugged her.

All those questions started filling her mind again but this time she fought back. She kept repeating that everything would be okay, that she was fine, she was safe and Lulu was there. She ended up falling asleep very quickly.

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Around 10:30, Emily decided to go to sleep too. She had already take a shower and was watching a movie with Garcia while Derek talked on the phone. She said goodnight to everyone and went to Isabella's bedroom. When she walked in she found Bella awake with tears rolling down her face.

"What happened? I thought you were asleep" Emily said rushing to the bed.

"I just woke up" Bella said.

"Did you have a bad dream again?" Emily asked laying next to the girl.

"No" Bella said. "I woke up and Lulu was not here."

"I saw she drinking some water. She must have been really thirsty" Emily said pushing hair away from the child's face. "You got scared?" Emily asked and Bella nodded.

She sniffed and said "I was scared to get out of bed"

"because she wasn't here?" Emily asked.

"yeah." Bella said.

"Oh baby she's okay. She'll be right back" Emily said hugging Bella.

"Can you hold me again?" Bella asked still crying a little.

"Sure" Emily said. She sat up and pulled Bella to her lap. Bella rested her head on Emily's chest and hugged her blanket.

"I wish I could just hold you like this forever" Emily said.

"You can." Bella said and Emily stared at her. "Well you kind of have 4 months to make it up to me" Bella said and Emily couldn't help but smile. There was her sweet girl.

She was happy to see that side of her baby was still there.

"Well, I promise you I will" Emily said and kissed Isabella's forehead.

"Mommy" Bella said and stared at Emily.

"Yes" Emily said and looked at her.

"Do I have to go live you now?" Bella asked and Emily felt a lump on her throat.

"We don't have to talk about this right now" Emily said.

"I want to live here with Derek" Bella said as more tears filled her eyes.

Emily's eyes filled with tears too. Isabella saw that and felt really bad. "I'm sorry" she said as tears escaped from her eyes.

Emily pushed her tears away and wiped Bella's.

"It's okay. I'm not taking you anywhere until you're ready" Emily said. "Okay?"

"But what if It takes a long time?" Bella asked.

"Well... I'm not going anywhere so we have time. We'll go slow, okay?

"Okay" Bella said and grabbed a handful of Emily's shirt.

"Now close your eyes" Emily said and Bella did just that.

Once the girl was asleep, Emily laid her down and laid very close to her. Soon Lulu walked back in the room and jumped on the bed. Emily smiled and closed her eyes.

She felt Bella grabbing her shirt so she opened her eyes and found the girl asleep snuggling close to her. She push hair away from Isabella's face.

"I love you" she said and placed a kiss on the child's forehead. She stared at Bella for a while and then laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes.

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 **(Thursday)**

The night was okay for everyone in the Morgan house. Bella woke up a few times but it wasn't anything serious, just checking on Emily and then falling back asleep.

The morning also went well. They had breakfast, watched some tv and Bella let Emily pet lulu and even showed her all the tricks she had taught the dog. Emily felt amazing watching Isabella smiling as she played around with the Lulu.

They had lunch around 1pm and then Derek suggested going for a walk again so everybody went, even Garcia. This time they turned the other way and went to the churros place. Emily was impressed that Bella knew everyone in the shop, all the workers greeted them when they walked in and asked how Bella was. They bought their churros and started making their way back outside.

"Bella wait! We saved some for Lulu!" said a lady, walking to them with a plate with a few broken churros.

"Thank you Sally" Bella said with a smile thanking the old lady and they walked out.

Bella put the plate down on the floor and Lulu ate it all very quickly.

"Churros days are the best days, aren't they lulu?" Garcia said with a smile and everyone laughed.

They started walking back home and as always Bella held Morgan's hand.

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Around 3:45pm, Derek and Emily were talking in the living room about how everyone at the churros place and at the donut place were, while Penelope and Bella finished baking cookies in the kitchen, when they heard the door bell ring.

Derek walked there and it was Hilary and the girls. The night before, she had explained to Chloe and Millie what happened to Emily. Millie was little and didn't really understand what happened, all she really cared was that Emily was okay and with Bella now. Chloe in the other hand was a bit upset. She knew how much Bella went through and she felt sad that Hotch lied to her friend like that. But she felt happy too, happy that Emily was alive and well.

"Bella, Chloe is here" Derek said and Bella went to wash her hand quickly. "Come on in" Derek told them and they walked inside.

Chloe saw Emily and her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe she was right there.

"Go ahead" Derek said knowing the girl wanted to hug Emily. Emily smiled and opened her arms and took a step towards Chloe. The girl ran to her and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so happy you're okay" Chloe said as tears filled her eyes.

Suddenly Bella walked in and saw them hugging.

"Bella!" Millie said excited and ran to the girl. Bella picked her up.

Chloe let go of the hug and turned to Bella. She looked at her friends face and was speechless so they just stared at each other for a while.

"Why don't you girls go talk in the bedroom?" Hilary suggested. Bella put Millie down and started walking. Chloe and Millie followed her.

"Millie stay here with mommy" Hilary said.

"No" the girl wined.

"She can come. It's okay" Bella turned around and said.

They went inside Bella's bedroom while the grownups talked outside about how the kids took the news and how everything was going with Bella.

.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked as soon as they entered the bedroom.

"No" Bella said walking to the bed. She sat down and Chloe sat next to her while Millie ran straight to the toys.

"How could they lie to you like that?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know. It's all Hotch's fault" Bella said.

"Was he the only one that knew?" Chloe asked.

"No" Bella said and Chloe was in shock.

"Who else ?" The blonde girl asked.

"Jennifer knew" Isabella said.

"What?" Chloe asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Bella said shaking her head no in disapproval.

"That's crazy" Chloe said feeling bad. "But are you happy she's here?"

"I guess" Bella said.

"You guess?"

"I mean yes. She's my mom. I love her and all this time I just wanted her here so yes I'm happy but..." Bella said.

"But what?"

"She just left me" Bella said and her eyes filled with tears.

Chloe just wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm sorry" she said.

"Yeah I know. Everybody is" Bella said letting go of the hug. "But I'll be fine, right? Cause I mean... I was okay was when she was gone. Well somedays I was not but most of the time I was and I guess it will be better now that she's here, right?"

"Of course it will. She's your mom. You love her" Chloe said. "You kept telling me you wanted her back. Well... She's here now so you better enjoy it"

"I know" Bella said.

"Look I know you're probably mad at her but she was trying to protect you and make sure she would stay alive and well. At least that's what my mom told me it happened. And I guess that it's okay to be sad and all because you really believe she was gone but... She's here. Isn't that what you wanted?" Chloe said and Bella nodded.

"So you'll be just fine" Chloe said.

"I hope so" Bella said.

"You will! You'll see" Chloe said.

"See what?" Millie asked walking to them holding two plushes.

"See nothing Millie! Put those back" Chloe said and Bella laughed.

"Why? I wanna play with them!" Millie said.

"Did you even ask Bella if you could?" Chloe asked.

"I don't have to ask. Right Bella?" Millie said and Isabella smiled.

"Right" Bella said and the tiny girl gave her a big smile.

"See I told you" Millie said and ran out of the room.

"We better go after her before she kidnaps them" Chloe said and the two girls follow the smaller one to the living room.

.

Millie sat with Hilary on the couch and suddenly Penelope walked in with the freshly baked cookies.

"Who wants a cookie?" Garcia said excited.

"Me!" Millie said and started jumping up and down super excited.

"Well, little one, you can have more than one" Penelope said smiling.

"Yeah!" Millie celebrated and everybody in the room laughed.

They ate and chatted. Around 5, Hilary said they should head home so everyone said goodbye and they left.

"Wow Millie has so much energy" Emily said making an exhausted face.

"That kid is crazy" Morgan said.

Penelope and Bella bursted into laugher.

"Why are you two laughing like this?" Emily asked a bit confused.

"About a month ago, Hilary went on a date and the girl slept here." Bella said. "Let me just say that Millie made her mission to annoy Derek." Bella said and Garcia laughed.

"It was the best day!" Penelope said. "We let the kids eat s'mores after dinner and just imagine what all the chocolate and marshmallows did to an already energetic 6 year-old"

"Oh wow" Emily said. "I feel bad for you man" she told Morgan who laughed.

"You have no idea how insane it was" Bella said.

"Oh I do" Emily said letting out a laugh. "You had a little sugar high when you were 4 that drove your dad and me nuts" she said and everyone smiled. "Seriously. It was really late, your dad was at work and I was working on some paperwork while you and Jeremy watched a movie. But your brother got ice cream for him and of course you wanted so he got the whole bowl and sat to watch the movie with you. I found you covered in chocolate ice cream." Emily said while Bella just smiled.

"What did you do?" Derek asked.

"Gave her a bath, of course" Emily said and they laughed. "And then just prayed she would calm down soon." She added.

"What time did I go to bed?" Bella asked.

"Around 1am" Emily said.

"See. I told you Millie wasn't so bad" Garcia said. The girl went to bed at 11.

Derek laughed and suddenly Bella said "speaking of ice cream... Can I maybe have a little bit?"

Emily smiled.

"Is that a yes?" Bella asked her.

"I guess" Emily said.

"Wait! Only if you process to eat dinner" Derek said.

"Yes I promise" Bella said and ran to the kitchen. Derek followed her.

"Time helps see" Garcia told Emily, who smiled.

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Later that day they ate dinner and sat to watch a movie. Everyone was happy at how well things were going.

But they changed pretty quickly.

They were watching a movie when the doorbell rang. Derek went to answer and it was JJ with Henry.

"Come on in" Derek said.

"He's been asking to stop by and I thought he could cheer Bella up a little" JJ said holding Henry's hand..

"She's in the living room. Go get her Henry" Derek said and the little boy ran inside.

Bella looked surprised when Henry ran in and hugged her.

"Hi" Bella said hugging him back.

"How are you big man?" Emily asked and Henry went and hugged her too.

"I good Aunt Emily" he said.

Suddenly JJ appeared. Bella stared at her and then looked away as she felt tears fill her eyes. She grabbed her mug, that she ate the ice cream, that was still sitting in the center table, and said "I'm gonna get a bit more" and rushed to the kitchen.

Emily stood up to go after her but Derek told her not to.

"Sorry. I should've called. I just thought she'd like to see Henry" JJ said.

"Oh no J. She'll be alright." Emily said.

"Just sit down with us. She'll play with him. You know her" Penelope said. She knew Bella loved that little boy and they all knew that the girl wouldn't treat him any different just because of what JJ did.

 **.**

Bella went to the kitchen, put her mug on the sink and went to the backyard. She wanted to be alone. She looked for a quiet place and went to Derek's little work shop next to the garage on the back. She sat on a chair and just stared out the window. She started thinking about how angry she was at JJ for lying to her face.

 **.**

Inside the house they talked a bit about how Bella was doing. Suddenly it started raining pretty bad. After a while Penelope told Henry to go play with Bella in her room. The boy ran out but soon walked back saying he didn't find Bella.

"Isn't she in her room?" Emily asked him.

"No one there" he said.

"Where's lulu?" Derek asked as he noticed the dog wasn't there.

"Lulu sleeping on the bed" Henry said.

Derek got up and went to Isabella's bedroom. He found Lulu in the dog bed in the corner. He looked around the place and inside the bathroom and nothing. He checked his room and Penelope's and also nothing. He started to get really worried.

"She's not here" he said as he walked inside the leaving room.

"What do you mean?" Penelope asked.

"She's not inside this house" he said serious and ran to the kitchen. Everyone started checking all the rooms looking for Bella. They didn't find her.

"I'm gonna look outside" Derek said.

"Take the dog" Emily said handing Lulu's leash to Morgan. He grabbed the dog and went out in the rain. The thunders made him even more worried because he knew Isabella was terrified of that now.

He walked to the churros place and no one had seen the girl, then he walked to the donut place and nothing. He yelled her name outside for a while and got no response so he went back home.

"She wouldn't run away. She was okay" Penelope said as he walked in.

"Till I got here" JJ said. "It's my fault."

"Hey" Emily said and put her hand on JJ's shoulder. She didn't want her friend to feel guilty.

"Did you check the garage? Maybe she was outside and it started raining so she went there" JJ said.

Derek went to the backyard and everyone followed him. Emily's heart was beating so fast. Derek walked inside the garage and saw his car door was open. He walked there and breathed out relieved when he saw the girl fast asleep laying in the back seat.

"She's here!" He told them and everyone breathed out relieved. Emily ran to the garage while JJ and Penelope stayed inside the house with Henry.

"Bella" Derek said pulling the girl to him. "Wake up" he said and Bella said "no" and pushed him away not sure who it was.

"It's uncle Morgan. It's okay princess. It's me" he said and she suddenly opened her eyes. "Come here" he said and pulled her to his arms taking her out of the car.

"Is she okay?" Emily asked him.

"Bella, how did you end up sleeping in the car?" He asked.

"I was just sitting in your work place and then there was noise" she said still very sleepy.

"Was it the thunders?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. I got scared so I came here… it's safe on the car" Bella said and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're right it is safe" Derek said.

"Didn't you hear us calling for you?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella said sounding sad.

"So you just stayed there and feel asleep?" Emily asked.

"Yeah I was crying cause I was scared and then I laid down and just fell asleep I guess" Bella said.

"You're shaking" Derek said worried. "Let's get her inside. It's cold out here" Derek said.

"Yeah. Let's fix you up a warm bath, okay?" Emily said with a small smile.

"Okay" Bella said and Derek carried her inside the house.

"What happened?" Penelope asked worried.

"She hid in the car because of the thunderstorm and ended up falling asleep" Derek said and put Bella down, who was clearly very sleepy.

"Let's go" Emily said grabbing her hand and they walked to the girl's bedroom.

"I should go. Maybe some other day I can..." JJ said picking Henry up.

"I'll talk to her" Penelope said and they went to the front door.

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"Where are your pajamas?" Emily asked.

"Right there" Bella said pointing to the drawer.

"Long sleeves and pants?" Emily asked and Bella nodded. Emily got it and they went to the bathroom in the hallway. "Let me fix you a bath" she said going to the bathtub.

"I want a shower" Bella said rubbing her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked as she turned to face Bella.

"Yeah" Bella said.

Bella just stood there waiting for her mother to get out.

"Oh sorry" Emily said when she realized. "Anything I'll be right outside" she said and walked out and shut the door.

Bell showered quickly and when she got out Emily was right there waiting.

"Nice and fresh?" Emily asked wrapping Bella in a hug and the girl nodded yes.

"Can I go to bed?" Isabella asked letting go of the hug.

"It's super early honey. Why don't we sit to watch some tv? It's almost time for Doctor Who" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said. "Let me just get something" she said and went to her room. Emily followed her. Bella got her blanket and Duffy and they walked to the living room. When they got there a sudden loud thunder scared Bella. The girl let out a scream and hugged Emily's waist.

"It's okay. It's okay" Emily said a bit surprised.

"Can you pick me up?" The girl said almost crying.

"I can't honey. I'm sorry" Emily said.

"What?" Bella asked confused but before she could say anything Derek got there and picked her up.

"Come here" he said and lifted her up. She cried and Derek could feel her tiny body shaking.

Emily sat down on the couch and Derek sat next to her with Bella on his lap and Bella started to calm down. Suddenly there was another thunder. Bella hid her face on her Duffy and blanket and just cried again.

"Baby you're shaking" Emily said as she placed her hand on the girl and felt.

"I'm scared" Bella cried.

"It's okay. You're safe. It's just a thunder princess" Derek said.

"Why are you so scared Bella?" Emily asked.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"Are they really loud? Is that what scares you?" Emily asked.

"They're out of nowhere and they're loud and it makes me feel sick" Bella said.

"It makes you feel sick?" Emily asked and Bella nodded.

"Look baby. It's just a thunder and it's outside. We are here with you and we are all safe. We are all okay" Emily said. Bella let go of Derek and sat between them, resting her head on Emily's arm. Emily threw her arm around the girl's shoulder and Bella relaxed a little.

Penelope put on the channel and Doctor Who had just started. They watched the show as the rain went light. Bella ended up falling asleep. When the show was over, Derek carried Isabella to bed and all of them went to sleep.

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 **(Friday)**

It was almost 1am when Bella woke up because of a loud thunder. It was raining really bad again.

She sat up on the bed and she was sweating. She took a deep breath and laid down and tried telling herself she was okay but as she laid there and lightning's lights filled the room she started feeling really really scared. Suddenly she thought that maybe turning the light on would help so she got out of bed and went to turn it on but it wasn't working.

"Not a blackout" she said and started crying. She ran back to bed and tried calming herself down but she just couldn't, so she woke Emily up.

"Mom" Bella said giving Emily a gentle shake. "Mommy!" Bella said again with a begging tone and Emily eyes shot open.

"What happened? What's wrong?" She asked sitting up as soon as she saw Isabella's red face as a lighting light filled the room.

"There's a blackout" Bella said and suddenly another thunder. "Ahh" Bella cried and hugged Emily tight.

"It's okay. Baby it's okay" Emily said as she ran her hand on Isabella's back.

"I'm scared. I'm so scared" Bella said crying, and suddenly there was another thunder. "Mommy" Bella cried really bad now.

"Come here. Sit up. I'll hold you" Emily said and Bella sat up so Emily could pull her to her lap. Emily did just that but Bella kept crying.

"Shuuuu it's okay. It's just a thunder. The rain will stop soon. It's okay" Emily kept repeating as she slightly rocked Bella.

As she said the rain suddenly stopped and the lights went back on. Bella also calm down again.

"See it's all gone now" Emily said with a small smile as she tucked a lock of hair behind Isabella's ear.

"Mommy" Bella said.

"Yes?"

"Why did you say you couldn't pick me up but now you're holding me?" Bella asked.

"I can't lift much weight yet." Emily said.

"Why?" Bella asked.

"I hurt my tummy really bad and I needed surgery so it takes a while for it to heal really well so I can't lift weight for a little while." She said and suddenly Bella remembered that night and the wood stuck on her mother's stomach. Her eyes filled with tears again.

"I'm okay now" Emily said. "I can't pick you up but I can hold you like this, okay?" she said feeling bad that Bella was crying.

"Okay" Bella said.

There was a moment of silence and then Bella said "mommy"

"Yes" Emily said.

"Do you still have it?" Bella asked.

Emily felt a lump on her throat but she wasn't sure if Bella was talking about what she was thinking.

"Do I still have what?" Emily asked.

"The... burn" Bella said almost a whisper.

Emily pushed her tears away as she remembered those moments.

"The clover?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

"Yes" Emily said.

"Can I see it?" Bella asked. She wanted to see if it looked like hers.

Emily was surprised with the request but she felt like Bella should see it.

"Yeah" she said. Bella sat up on her lap and she pulled her shirt down a bit to show her left boob. She was wearing a bra but Bella could see it. Right there on the bra line and it looked almost exactly like hers.

"Do you wanna feel it?" Emily asked and Bella shook her head no and pulled her mother's shirt up. She was done.

"Can I see yours?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella said serious and laid down so Emily could hold her again.

"Please honey" Emily said.

"No" Bella said crying a little now.

"Okay. You don't have to. You'll show it to me when you're ready" Emily said feeling bad she made Bella cry again.

Bella took the blanket to her face.

"Close your eyes. Try to sleep. It's late" Emily said and started to slightly rock Bella. The girl closed her eyes and after a while opened them again to find Emily staring at her.

"Close your eyes" Emily said.

"I can't sleep" Bella said.

"I'll sing to you" Emily said and Bella snuggled her blanket and closed her eyes again. Emily tucked some hair behind Isabella's ear and started singing one of the songs she used to sing to Bella when the girl was little…

" _Baby don't you cry, Gonna make a pie_

 _Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle_

 _Baby don't be blue, Gonna make for you_

 _Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle_

 _Gonna be a pie from heaven above_

 _Gonna be filled with chocolate love_

 _Baby don't you cry, Gonna make a pie_

 _And hold you forever in the middle of my heart_ "

She finished it and Bella was already out. She smiled and wiped a tear stain on the girl's face.

Emily was just so happy to be there holding her daughter in her arms again. She had dreamed of those moments for months and they were finally happening. She was exited to get her life back together and to give her daughter the best life and the best mother she could have wished for.

Instead of putting Bella down on the bed, Emily sang the song one more time and then placed the child next to her. She covered the girl up, laid down and held her baby's hand.

"I love you Bell" she said and gave the girl's hand a kiss.

Bella's eyes opened slightly.

"Love you too mommy" she whispered and fell back asleep.

…


	80. Chapter 80: Ready

…

The alarm clock woke Derek up at 6:30am. Bella said she would try to go to school so he wanted to be the one to wake her up and make sure she'd get out of bed. He went to her bedroom and found Emily awake staring at the sleeping girl.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah" Emily said with a smile. "Is everything okay?" She asked not sure why he was there so early.

"She promised she would go to school today" Derek said.

"Oh. Are you sure she's ready for that?" Emily asked unsure.

"We'll see but she needs to go. It's the last couple weeks and there are things she can't miss" Derek said and Emily nodded understanding.

"Let's wake her up then" Emily said.

Derek sat on the bed and ran his hand on Bella's back. "Bella" he sang. "It's time for school, baby girl. Wake up" he said and she opened her eyes. "Time for school" he said.

Bella turned around and hid her face on her mother.

"Come on. You're gonna be late" Emily said running her fingers through the girl's hair.

"No" Bella said.

"No. You're going!" Derek said.

"No I'm not" Bella said.

"Bella, come on. Sit up" Emily said pulling the girl up. Bella sat and just looked down. She didn't want to leave Emily.

"Look. You said you were going today" Derek said and she just kept looking down. "We've talked about this and you are going" he said and she shook her head no.

"Bella, she's staying here. She's not going anywhere" Derek said just knowing exactly why Bella didn't want to go to school. The girl looked up with glossy eyes.

"I promise you" he said.

Bella looked at Emily.

"I'm not going anywhere" Emily said with a small warm smile.

Bella looked down again and said "Okay".

"Alright. So go get ready" Derek said. "I'll get the breakfast ready" he said and left the room.

"Mommy, I don't wanna go" Bella said turning to Emily again.

"I know baby but its school. And you're almost done with it. You gotta go" Emily said and Bella looked down.

"Look" Emily said lifting the girl's chin. "Go to school and I'll pick you up and we'll go do something cool. Just the two of us" Emily said. Bella still looked sad but said "okay". Then she got up and went to get ready. Emily fixed the girl's hair and they went to have breakfast.

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Bella looked nervous sitting on the backseat of Derek's car. The man parked in front of the school and the girl took a deep breath.

"See you at 3:30" Emily said.

"Bye" Bella said really low and walked out of the car. She spotted her friends, talking close to the entrance, and walked to them.

"Bella!" Ro said running to her and hugging her. "Are you alright?" She asked. Of course Chloe had told them about the entire Emily situation.

"Yeah" Bella said letting go of the hug. She turned around and waved at Derek and Emily who waved back and drove away.

"What a crazy thing, right?" Gavin said still in disbelief that Emily was actually okay.

"Yeah" Bella said and the bell rang. They went to class and the subject changed to what Bella had missed. She was glad her friends just let her be and didn't keep talking about her mom.

School started okay. Bella avoided eye contact with pretty much everyone because she didn't want to cry. She tried concentrating on the lessons but it was hard. Around 11 she just couldn't anymore. The thoughts of her mom getting hurt, crying in pain, and leaving her, couldn't get out of her mind.

"Misses Edmund, may I go drink some water?" Isabella raised her hand and asked the science teacher.

"Of course sweetheart" the woman said. Her husband worked in the bureau and she already knew the girl's situation. Bella walked out of the classroom and walked to the water fountain close by. She drank some water and suddenly she felt her heart start to pound fast. She went to the bathroom and sat on a closed toilet, closing the door in front of her. Tears started falling down her face and her breathing was getting heavy.

"Not again. Please not again" she cried.

 **.**

Inside the classroom, Misses Edmund got worried because Bella was taking a long time to just drink some water. So she walked to Chloe and asked the girl to go check on her friend. Chloe walked outside and didn't see Bella. So she went to the bathroom to check.

She walked in and heard someone crying.

"Bella?" Chloe said and the room went silent. "Bella. I know it's you." Chloe said and Isabella opened the door. Her face was red and she had many many tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Bella, what happened?" Chloe asked really worried.

"I think I'm having a panic attack" Bella said and cried.

"It's okay. You're gonna be okay" Chloe said giving Bella a hug.

"I want my mom" Bella said.

"Let's go to the nurse station" Chloe said.

"No, I'll just call her" Bella said.

"Bella, you're not okay. You need to go see someone" Chloe said really worried about Bella's breathing and how much she was sweating. "Come on" Chloe said throwing one arm around Isabella's shoulder.

"No! No. I'm not going" Bella said taking a step back and Chloe arm off of her. She didn't want to walk around the school crying like that.

"You stay here and I'll get the nurse" Chloe said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said sitting on the closed toilet again.

Chloe walked to the nurse station.

"Is everything okay?" The nurse asked when Chloe got there. For their luck the nurse wasn't seeing anyone.

"Bella is in the bathroom and I think she's having a panic attack" Chloe said.

The nurse grabbed a few things and followed the girl to the bathroom. They walked inside and the nurse went to check Bella.

"What are you feeling?" She asked the girl.

"Can you call my mom? I don't feel good" Bella said.

"Let me check you first sweetheart" the woman said. She checked Bella's blood pressure and her lungs.

"Call her uncle Derek" Chloe said.

"Okay I will" The nurse said. "But have you ever had a panic attack before?" The woman asked to make sure.

Bella nodded yes.

"Just call him" Chloe said.

"Alright" the nurse said. "You have to come to the principal's office with me"

"No! Just call him here" Bella said crying.

"I don't have his number sweetie and we need to talk to the principal" the nurse said.

"My phone is on my desk" Bella said.

"I know honey but we gotta talk to the principal first" the nurse said and Bella just shook her head no and her breathing got worse.

"Alright. Look. Chloe, you stay here with her and I'm gonna go talk to him. If she feels anything else you scream for help" the woman said.

"Okay" Chloe said and the nurse walked out.

"You're gonna be okay. They'll be here soon" Chloe said holding Bella's hand.

The nurse ran to the principal's office and explained what was going on. The man told his secretary to call Morgan and told the nurse to go stay with the girl.

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"Hey. He's calling your uncle right now" the nurse said walking inside the bathroom. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said still crying. She just hated the fact she was unable to get control of herself again.

"Chloe, he said you need to go back to class" the nurse said.

"No it's okay" Chloe said.

"School's rule, Chloe. I'll stay here with her till her uncle gets here. Don't worry" the woman said.

"Is that okay Bella?" Chloe asked and Bella nodded yes so the girl left.

The nurse walked to Bella and kneed down in front of her and held her hands. "Look at me" she said and Bella looked. "Deep breaths. You're okay. And they're coming. Everything is okay" she said but it didn't really help.

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Derek was sitting in the living room with Garcia while Emily showered.

Suddenly his phone rang.

"Oh no. It's the school" he said worried and answered the phone quickly.

"Hello?" The secretary said.

"Hi. May I speak with Derek Morgan please?"

"This is him." He said.

"Hi. I'm calling because Isabella was seen by the nurse today and it's believed she's having a panic attack right now and she asked us to call you" the woman said.

"I'll be right there" Derek said.

"Okay" the woman said and they hung up.

"What's wrong?" Penelope asked worried.

"Bella's having a panic attack" Derek said.

"Oh no" Garcia said sad. "I'm gonna go get Emily" she added quickly and ran to the bathroom. She knocked on the door and said "Emily? Are you almost done?".

"Yes. Why?" Emily asked as she finished washing the soap off.

"The school called. Bella is having a panic attack" Garcia said.

Emily turned the shower off immediately.

"I'll be right out" She said and grabbed the towel.

Garcia went to the living room and told Morgan that Emily was almost done. Emily put her clothes on and headed out, her wet hair dripping on the towel on her shoulders. She put her shoes on and went to the living room.

"Let's go" she told them.

Garcia stayed at home and Emily and Derek headed to the car. Emily tried drying her hair a little with the towel while they drove there but failed.

When they got to the school they went straight to the principal's office.

"Good to see you Miss Prentiss" the principal said.

"Where is she?" Emily asked.

"She's in the bathroom with the nurse" the man said.

"Let me talk to her" Emily told Derek who nodded yes.

They followed the principal to the bathroom and Emily got in. When Bella saw her she stood up and ran to her mother's arms and just cried.

"I can't breathe" Bella cried.

"Shuuuu it's okay. It's gonna be okay" Emily said.

"I wanna go home" Bella said.

"I know. We're gonna go home" Emily said tightening the hug. She felt Isabella's heavy breathing. "Let's sit down" she said letting go of the hug.

"Anything I'm right outside" the nurse said and walked out.

Emily sat in the closed toilet and pulled Bella to her lap.

"Just try to breathe slow honey" Emily said.

"I can't" Bella cried.

"Oh honey what happened?" Emily asked.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you and what you were doing and I just..." Bella said and cried. "I just want to go home, mommy" the girl cried.

"I know. Just try to calm down and we're gonna go" Emily said as Bella rested her head on her chest. Emily could feel the girl's tiny body shake. "Shuuuuuu calm down. I'm right here" she kept repeating.

Outside Derek, the principal and the nurse could hear everything.

"How is Bella doing with all of this?" The principal asked.

"She's a strong kid" Derek said.

 **.**

After a while, Bella calmed down.

"Can we go now?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily said and they got up. "Wash your face, baby" Emily said and Bella went and did that. Once done, she grabbed her mother's hand and they walked out. Instead of walking to Derek looking for comfort as Bella had done for so long now, she just hid behind her mom.

"Is everything okay?" The principal asked and Emily said "yes".

"Let me get her bag" the man said and walked to the girl's classroom.

Derek walked closer to Bella and asked if she was okay and she just nodded. Her eyes filled with tears again so Emily wrapped her in a hug.

The principal asked Chloe to get Isabella's bag and then he gave it to Derek and they headed to the car. The girl sat on the back with Emily as Derek drove home.

When they got there, Bella went straight to her bedroom. She didn't even stop to talk to Penelope who had been waiting worried for them.

"Is she okay?" Garcia asked and Emily nodded no.

Derek followed Bella to the bedroom while Garcia hugged Emily. Derek walked in to find Bella laying on the bed with lulu.

"Princess, It's not bed time" Derek said and Bella stayed quiet. "Bella out of bed right now. Come on, you can sit with us in the living room" he said.

"No!" Bella yelled.

Emily heard and rushed in.

"Let me" Emily told Derek and he walked out. He hoped Bella would listen to Emily.

"Bell." Emily said sitting next to the girl on the bed and taking a deep breath. Bella didn't move.

"Honey. Being here and being upset it's not going to help" she said. Bella sat up and sat on her lap.

"I'm tired" Bella said and the tears started falling.

"Tired of what baby?" Emily asked as the girl got in a comfortable position.

"Of feeling bad" she cried.

"Oh honey" Emily said and tightened the hug. Emily stayed quiet for a while and just let Bella cry. She never liked when Bella held the tears in.

"Look" she said after sometime. "I know it's a lot for your little head, baby. I know it's a lot… and we can't just expect you to be fine and okay with everything. But you know that I can't let you pull away. And I'm not going to. Ever. Neither will Derek. He loves you and he wants you to be okay too" Emily said.

"I'm just not ready for all of this. I can't go to school, mom. I just... People keep looking at me and they know what happened. And I keep thinking about you and where you are. I'm not ready, mommy. I can't do it" Bella cried.

"Baby there's just two weeks left of school. You have a bunch of tests now, honey. I know it's hard but you're a big girl and I know that you know how that works." Emily said. "Bella, you know that you might fail if you miss the finals" she said.

"Can't I just be homeschooled?" Bella asked.

"No honey. It's just two more weeks and then it's all done"

"I wanna stay with you. I don't wanna spend the whole day there" Bella said crying.

"I know Bella" Emily said feeling bad.

"Can't I just go and do the test and come home? I don't want to be there all day" Bella said.

"I don't know if you can do that" Emily said.

"We can ask the principal" Bella said crying.

"Okay. We can ask him, alright?" Emily said. "We'll ask him. Mommy will ask him, okay?" Emily said wiping Bella's right cheek.

"I just wanna stay with you" Bella said and hid her face.

"I know" Emily said and started rocking the girl.

Emily just sat there till Bella calmed down several minutes later. Emily looked at the dog laying on the bed and had an idea.

"Are you alright now?" Emily asked Bella and the girl said yes. "So why don't we go walk Lulu?" Emily asked.

"No" Bella said shaking her head.

"Please! Just you and I?" She begged.

"Just us?" Bella asked unsure and suddenly nervous.

"Yeah. We can go get donuts and surprise Derek and Penelope with some" Emily said with a smile.

"Okay" Bella said. She wasn't sure she was ready to do that without Derek but it was Emily, it was her mom, so she told herself she could do it and went for it.

"Go wash your face so we can go" Emily said and Bella went to the bathroom. Emily went to the living room and told Derek they were going for a walk.

"Just you two?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah. I wanna try that" Emily said and Garcia smiled happy.

"Anything just ring me and I'll run to you guys" Derek said. He was happy that Bella wanted to go. He wanted Bella to have that same amazing relationship she had with Emily before it all happened.

"Be careful with the owner or you'll walk out of there with a date" Penelope said and Derek laughed.

"Oh, I met him" Emily said and laughed too.

Suddenly Bella walked in with lulu.

"Let's go?" Emily asked and the girl nodded yes. Emily grabbed lulu's leash and they went to the door. As soon as they walked outside Bella grabbed Emily right hand and held it tight.

"You're okay. I'm right here" Emily told her and Bella nodded looking nervous.

"I can do it" the little girl said in her head.

And they walked to the bakery.

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"Hey you… and the pretty lady again" said Joey, the owner, when they walked inside.

Bella smiled.

"What did we talk about young lady? No dogs allowed inside." Said a woman that worked there.

"Sorry" Bella said. "Can we just get the donuts really quick?" She asked and the woman smiled.

"Classic and chocolate?" Joey asked.

"Yup" Bella said.

"I'll take it for you guys outside" he said and they walked out. They took a seat around the table and Bella sat next to Emily who tied Lulu's leash on her seat.

"They are really nice here" Emily said.

"Yeah" Bella said looking around and seeming to be a bit nervous.

Emily noticed but didn't mention it.

Suddenly Joey showed up with their donuts. He placed the box on the table and took a seat.

"So, aren't you going to introduce us?" He asked Bella, who smiled.

"This is my mom. Emily" the girl said.

Joey's jaw dropped.

"Yeah I know" Bella said letting out a little laugh which made Emily smile.

"Wasn't she..?" He said.

"She was hiding" Bella said now a bit more serious.

"Did you know?" He asked. He had seen the girl crying so many times at that bakery because of her mother.

"No" Bella said.

"That's crazy" he said in disbelief.

"Well, she's here now" Bella said and grabbed the chocolate donut and took a big bite.

"I'm happy for you Bella" Joey said and Bella smiled and took another bite.

Joey stood up and said "welcome back Emily" with a smile and walked back inside the bakery.

Emily smiled at Bella.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Isabella asked. Emily could see the girl was still nervous. She took a donut too and started eating it.

After a while Bella noticed a woman basically staring at them and murmuring things to a guy across her table. She started to get really nervous and scared. Bella tried concentrating on her food and the dog but it wasn't helping. So she just got up and sat on her mother's lap.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked surprised.

"Not really" Bella said putting her donut down as she felt her heart starting to race.

Emily placed her hand on the girl's back and said "hey calm down. There's nothing here to scare you like this baby. We're just sitting outside eating donuts. It's okay"

"They are staring at us" Bella said and pointed to the couple.

"That doesn't mean anything baby. They are just eating like we are" Emily said and kept running her hand on the child's back scared a panic attack was coming.

Suddenly the couple got up and started walking to them.

"Mom" Bella said now really scared.

"It's okay" Emily said grabbing the girl's hand and squeezing it.

The couple got to their table and said "excuse me"

Emily looked at them but Bella avoided eye contact and kept squeezing her mother's hand.

"Yes" Emily said.

"Sorry to bother but we noticed your golden retriever, and we are looking for a boy for our little Clairy. Does yours happen to be a boy?" The woman asked.

"No. This is Lulu" Emily said with a smile as she felt Isabella breathing out relieved.

"Oh. Thank you anyways. And she's a lovely dog" the lady said and the couple walked away.

"See. I told you they were just eating like we are" Emily said and Bella looked embarrassed.

Emily gave her a tight hug. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah" Bella said letting go of the hug. "I'm sorry I freaked out" she added.

"It's alright honey. But you're safe now. He's gone. Far far far away. No one is going to hurt you" Emily said and hugged Bella again.

That hug took longer than usual and after a while Bella said "mom, I wanna live with you now"

Emily smiled and kept hugging the girl.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella said and let go of the hug. She sat up straight and faced Emily. "I love you mommy and I wanna be with you"

"Oh baby. I love you too" Emily said wiping a tear that escaped the child's left eye.

"Look. I just don't want you to rush things. Are you sure you're ready?" Emily said.

"I'm sure I want to live with you I just..." Bella said. "I just don't know if I'm 100% ready to go the apartment" she said and looked down.

"I think you don't have to go to the apartment, baby" Emily said and Bella looked at her.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked confused.

"I was thinking that we could buy a house. A really nice house with a big backyard" Emily said smiling.

"Really?" Bella asked excited.

"Yeah. Lulu is gonna need a big place to run around" Emily said looking happy.

Bella smiled big and hugged her again.

"Do you think you're ready for that?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said sounding excited. Suddenly tears started falling. Emily let go of the hug and saw it.

"What's wrong?" She asked worried.

"I'm just happy you're here with me" Bella said and Emily hugged her tight.

"I'm happy too, Bell" Emily said with a smile. "I love you, monkey" she said.

"I love you too mommy" Bella said and sat up straight again and started wiping her face.

Emily helped her and then said "Alright, let's finish this and then get some donuts for Morgan and Penelope" Emily said and Bella nodded yes. She stood up and Emily pulled her back. "Stay here with me" Emily said and Bella smiled.

They finished eating, got more donuts and then walked back to Derek's house.

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Emily and Isabella walked back inside the house to find Morgan on the phone with Hotch. Hotch explained that the team was under investigation and had a court meeting on Monday. Derek turned the phone off and told Garcia and Emily what was going on.

"We got donuts" Bella said when they finished talking.

"And how was the walk?" Derek asked.

"Good" Bella said with a small smile.

"Good" Derek repeated and smiled. He took a donut from the box and started eating.

"I'm gonna shower" Bella said and ran out.

"She looks so happy" Garcia said.

"She does" Emily smiled and Derek smiled too.

Now that Bella was away Derek went back to the other subject.

"Hotch said he still don't know exactly what is going on but he's going to speak to Strauss tonight." He started.

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Later that day, they had just finished dinner and decided to sit to watch an episode of Doctor Who. After the show was done, everyone could see Bella was really sleepy.

"It's bed time, come on" Emily said.

"What? It's Friday" Bella said.

"You're almost asleep" Derek said and laughed.

Bella got up and Emily grabbed her hand. The girl changed into pajamas and laid down. Emily tucked her in.

"Mom?" Bella said as Emily covered her up.

"Yes baby" Emily said.

"We need to tell Derek" the girl said.

"I'll talk to him. Don't worry" Emily said.

"I think he's going to be upset" Bella said looking a bit sad.

"Oh honey he won't." Emily said. "Baby, uncle Derek loves you so much. I know that he's happy for you. He's happy mommy is here with you. And just because you're going to stay with me, doesn't mean you won't see him. I'll let you come here, you guys can have your movies nights and sleepovers, okay?"

"Okay. I just... I just don't want him to be sad" Bella said.

"I know. He won't be" Emily said and placed a kiss on the girl's forehead. "Goodnight pretty girl" Emily said.

"Goodnight" Bella said.

Emily turned the nightlight on and the ceiling light off and closed the door. Bella turned to the right and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes again and saw lulu on the dog bed in the corner.

"Come here" she said tapping on the bed and the dog jumped and cuddled up to her. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

 **.**

Emily walked in the living room.

"Is everything okay?" Derek asked noticing her serious face.

"We need to talk" she said sitting next to Penelope on the couch and Garcia looked a bit scared and worried.

"What happened?" Derek asked worried.

"We were at the donut place and Bella asked to live with me again" Emily went straight to the point.

"She did? That's wonderful" Garcia said with a smile while Derek and Emily stayed serious. Penelope noticed and said "why aren't you two happy? That's improvement. I know we'll miss her but…"

"Are you sure she's ready for that? She hasn't been in that place for over 3 months" Derek said.

"I'm not taking her back there. We need a fresh start. I'm thinking about buying a house with a backyard for Lulu and her to play." Emily said.

Derek still looked serious. Of course he was happy for Bella because she always said she just wanted Emily back and there she was now. But he was sad too, because he got a family in those last 4 months and that seemed to be ending now. And he didn't want that to happen.

Emily noticed his face and said "Derek, Bella is really worried about leaving you. And she doesn't you to be upset that she's ready to go. But I think that we have to. We both need a fresh start to make things work again and I promise you that she won't be leaving you. She loves you and she loves you too Garcia. She loves both of you. And I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for what you two did for her. You are her family too. And I want both of you in my daughter's life."

"And we want to be" Garcia said with tears in her eyes and a big smile.

"She'll always have a room here" Derek said with a small smile.

Emily got up and hugged him.

"And you too. You both are family" Derek said.

"Thank you... so much. For everything you did" Emily said. "I couldn't see better people than you two to look after her"

"It was our pleasure, mama bear" Garcia said and hugged them both.

Suddenly Bella walked in, rubbing her eyes. She could not sleep.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Penelope asked letting go of the hug when she saw the girl.

"I can't sleep" Bella said and they all stood up straight.

"Come here" Derek said and the little girl walked to him. He pulled her to his lap and said "your mom was telling us about her plan to get a big house"

Bella looked down a bit nervous.

"Hey" he said and touched her chin so she looked at him. "I'm happy you're ready for this. And no matter what happens or where you live, you'll always have a room here. You're my girl, Okay?"

Bella nodded yes as her eyes filled with tears.

"You're not mad?" Bella asked holding her tears.

"Of course not, baby girl" he said. "I want you to be happy and I know you'll be really happy with your mom. And just because you won't live here it doesn't mean you won't have to put up with me. You'll never get rid of me kid" he said and everybody smiled.

"Good" Bella said letting out a laugh together with the tears, and hugged him.

They hugged for a while and then Emily said "let's go to bed then? I'm kind of sleepy too"

Bella let go of the hug, kissed Derek's cheek and said goodnight.

"Goodnight princess" he smiled. The girl got up, hugged Penelope and said goodnight.

"Let your dreams be filled with unicorns and chocolate bars" Garcia said as she wiped the girl's tears.

"Amen" Bella smiled and let go of the hug while Derek and Emily laughed.

"Goodnight guys" Emily said and they went to bed.

"She's ready, right?" Garcia said a bit insecure. Derek walked to her and hugged her.

"I think so." he said. He didn't want Bella to leave but he knew he had to let her go.

He had to let her have the life she always wanted.

A life with her mom right there by her side.

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 **(Saturday)**

Saturday was a chilled day at Derek's house. They just hung out all day.

After dinner Hotch stopped by.

"Come on in" Garcia said when she answered the door. Aaron walked in to find everyone in the living room. Bella was sitting between Emily and Derek and she looked away when she saw him.

"Hi. I just came to explain to you what exactly is going on with the bureau investigation" he said.

"Have a seat" Derek said and Hotch sat on the couch. Derek turned the tv off. As Hotch explained the reasons why they were doing an investigation and why they had to go to a court room on Monday, Isabella refused to look at him. Once they were done talking, Hotch invited everyone for lunch the next day.

"We'll meet you there" Morgan said.

"JJ and Rossi will go too" Hotch said. Hotch looked at Bella and the girl looked mad.

"Bella" he said walking to her. She looked away as he kneed down in front of her.

"I know you're mad at me. I'm okay with that. But I'm not okay with you being angry at JJ. I didn't give her a choice. I made the decision to do this, not her. I told her she couldn't tell you. It's not her fault, sweetheart. It's mine. So if you're angry at someone don't be angry at your mom or Jennifer. Be angry at me" he said.

She just sat there and looked away.

He stood up.

"I'll see you tomorrow" he said and left. Morgan followed him to the door.

"I'm going to bed" Isabella said and ran to her bedroom, Lulu ran after her.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Penelope asked.

"No. It's alright" Emily said and went to the girl's bedroom.

She walked in and Bella wasn't there. She checked the bathroom and Isabella was brushing her teeth. Emily sat on the girl's bed and waited for her. After a while Bella walked in all ready for bed.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked as Bella got under the covers next to her.

"Yes" Bella said serious.

"Hey" Emily said and the girl turned around and hid her face on her mother's leg. "Do you understand what he said? Did you even pay attention?" Emily asked.

"Yes... But I just don't get it" Bella said.

"Sit up" Emily said and Bella did that.

"I understand you had to go away mom. I understand that. But what I don't understand is why no one told me. No one told the team. We would have faked it like Hotch and JJ did. It's just not fair that we had to go through all of that. It's not fair I had to" Bella said and tears started falling. Emily pulled the child to her lap.

"I know baby. I'm sorry" Emily said.

"I know you are" Bella said. "I'm not mad at JJ, mom. I'm just sad"

"You're just sad?" Emily said.

"Yeah. Because she was here when I was crying for you… she was right here and she didn't tell me" Bella cried.

"Baby look at me" Emily said and Bella sat up straight still crying.

"I know we've told you this before and I know you're old enough to understand." She started. "If Hotch had let her tell you, you would have our lives in your hands. They couldn't rely on an eleven year-old to lie about something like that." Emily said calmly. "Bella, Doyle was watching everyone"

"You don't know that" Bella said.

"Baby, I know him. And that is what he does. He watches the suffering he creates. And Bella if he had seen you somehow okay and not grieving, he would have known something was up. And he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted." Emily said.

"Baby, if I'm here today. If we are together today is because he saw your pain. And I wish you didn't have to go through any of that. But if we hadn't lied I wouldn't be here right now" Emily said as tears fell from her own eyes. She hugged Bella and held the girl's head on her chest. "I wouldn't be here to hold you, and hug you. I wouldn't have met Lulu… and who knows what else we'll get to do in the future." She said.

"I know it was hard and really unfair... But that lie... saved my life. Saved our lives. And Hotch… and JJ, they did everything they could to make sure I'd be okay and I'd be able to come home soon. …They saved my life Bella" Emily said and just stared down at the girl in her arms, who had many many tears falling quickly down her cheeks.

"It was really hard" Bella said really low.

Emily hugged her tight and said "I know". Emily just held Bella till exhaustion took over and the girl fell asleep. She put Bella down on the bed and covered her up.

Suddenly Isabella slightly opened her eyes.

"Go back to sleep baby" Emily said pushing hair away from the girl's face.

"Can Henry come over tomorrow?" Bella asked almost whispering.

Emily smiled big and said "of course he can". She placed a kiss on the child's forehead. "Goodnight" she said.

"Night" Bella whispered and drifted back to sleep.

Emily turned the light off and went to the living room.

"How is she?" Garcia asked.

"I talked to her and she cried a bit. She's asleep now." Emily said and Derek nodded understanding that all the lying was still a hard subject for the girl.

"She asked if Henry could come over tomorrow" Emily said with a small smile.

"She did?" Derek asked surprised.

"Yeah" Emily let out a little laugh.

"Well, you better call JJ right now!" Garcia said excited.

They all laughed.

Emily called JJ and told her. The woman felt happy that Isabella wanted the boy around. She hoped the girl would be okay with her soon.

After the call Emily decided to go to bed. Derek and Garcia finished watching a movie and then went to bed too.

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 **(Sunday)**

It was almost 3 in the morning when Isabella woke up from a nightmare.

Her eyes shot open but she didn't make a sound. She stared at the ceiling and took a deep breath trying to push Doyle's face out of her mind. She turned to the side and faced Emily who was fast asleep. She stared at her mother and suddenly felt an enormous need to listen to her heart. She sat up on the bed, got closer to Emily and laid her head on her mother's stomach. She concentrated and smiled when she heard it.

Suddenly Emily woke up.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked worried.

"Sorry" Bella said sitting up. She was clearly embarrassed.

"Were you listening to my heart?" Emily asked and the girl nodded yes.

Emily smiled and said "come here. Let's find a comfy position."

Emily laid down on her left side and Bella got really close to her and laid down. Emily pulled her closer and hugged her tightly and kept holding Bella's head on her chest.

"Can you hear it?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said.

Emily smiled. "Now close your eyes. Try to go back to sleep, baby" Emily said and Bella did just that.

Emily stared at the sleeping girl for a while and then fell asleep to, happy to have her baby right there.

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Emily woke up because of loud noise at 8:34am. She looked at Bella and the girl was fast asleep hiding her face on Emily's chest. Emily smiled and pushed hair away from the girl's face.

She heard Lulu bark and decided to get up. She got out of the bed, pulled the covers up on Bella and then went to change. She changed into jeans and a pink blouse quickly and went to the kitchen where Garcia was making pancakes.

"Good morning, Mama Prentiss" Garcia said with a smile.

"Good morning" Emily said making a face as she smelled some deliciousness.

Suddenly Derek walked in.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry but I had to finish working on this" he said holding up a small wooden box.

"What's that?" Emily asked curious.

"Gavin's birthday is coming up and Bella asked if I could make him one" he said. "I made one for her a while ago."

"That looks amazing" Emily said taking a seat.

"Thanks" he said and suddenly the doorbell rang.

"That must be JJ!" Penelope said excited, flipping a pancake.

"This early?" Emily asked pouring some coffee for her.

"She texted me saying she would bring some fresh watermelon juice for us" Garcia told Emily as Derek walked to the door.

"Should I wake Bella?" Emily asked.

"Let her sleep a little more." Garcia said. "Poor thing. I bet she keeps waking up, doesn't she?"

"Just sometimes" Emily said. "But she'll be okay" she said.

Suddenly Henry ran inside the kitchen.

"Auntie Penny!" The boy said running and hugging Penelope's legs.

"Hi big man" Penelope said lifting him up.

"Where Bella?" He asked.

"She's sleeping but she'll wake up soon" Emily said.

"I wanna play" he said.

"Let's eat breakfast first and then play" JJ said walking inside the kitchen.

"Hi" Emily said standing up and hugging her friend. "How are you?"

"I'm good. You?" JJ said.

"Amazing" Emily smiled and JJ smiled back.

"Let's have a seat! Pancakes are done" Penelope said. Derek put the juice on the table and said "I'll get Bella" and headed to the girl's bedroom.

"Hey, Princess, wake up" he said running his hand on her back. She opened her eyes and he said "we have pancakes and watermelon juice waiting for you"

Bella sat up and asked "are they here already?"

"They who?" Derek played. "JJ?"

"Yes" Bella said.

"She wanted to bring us juice. Come on. I'll take you" he said and stood up. Bella stood up on the bed and he gave her a piggy back ride to the kitchen.

"Look who's awake" Emily smiled as Derek walked in and let Bella down.

"Morning" Bella said still sounding sleepy.

"Good morning" JJ and Penelope said in unison. Bella took the seat between Emily and Derek.

Breakfast went great even though Bella didn't really say a word to JJ.

After eating, Bella let Henry playing in her bedroom while she took a quick shower. She walked out of the bathroom wearing navy blue leggings, a black shirt with tiny pink bows on it and her hair dripping wet. She went to her bedroom and dried it with a towel then brushed it.

"Let's go to the living room Henry" she said and went. The little boy followed behind carrying a few stuffies.

"Mom, can you?" Bella asked holding a brush out. Emily smiled and Bella sat between her legs on the couch. Emily did a French braid and tied it with a pink hair tie Penelope handed to her.

"Thank you" Bella said and ran to her bedroom. Henry ran after her holding all the toys.

While the grownups talked about how Bella was doing and the FBI investigation, the kids played all morning till Penelope walked in to get them.

"We gotta go to the restaurant now. Get your shoes on and your jackets on cause it's raining, guys" Penelope said. Bella grabbed her navy blue jacket and her black doc martins. She put it on and then helped Henry with his black sneakers.

"Let's go?" Penelope said.

"Yup" Bella said grabbing Henry's hand and they headed out.

They walked to the door to find JJ holding Henry's jacket. Bella let go of him and JJ dressed him and then they all got in the car.

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The lunch went great.

They headed home after lunch and the kids sat to watch a movie while Garcia and JJ tried out a new cookie recipe, Derek and Emily looked for houses for sale on the Internet. Emily wrote some addresses and phones down and then they sat to eat the cookies and watch another movie with the kids.

Bella didn't talk to JJ all day but that changed when Emily asked if she wanted to walk Lulu right after the second movie ended.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"We can show Henry the donut place" Emily said with a smile.

"Okay" Bella said not sounding very sure about them going too, but they got their jackets and headed out the door. Derek stayed in the house finishing Gavin's gift.

Bella held Emily's right hand all the way to the bakery while JJ walked beside Emily, and Henry walked with Garcia in front of them.

They got to the bakery, got their donuts and sat outside. The rain had stopped but it was a little cold and sadly the tables inside the bakery had people already.

So they sat outside and ate.

Bella was quiet the whole time. Emily couldn't help but notice the girl peeking at JJ from time to time like she wanted to say something.

So when everybody finished eating Emily said she wanted another one and made a face at Garcia who then went and said she wanted another one too.

"Me too" said Henry.

"JJ ?" Emily asked.

"No thanks" Jennifer said.

"Bella?" Emily asked.

"Chocolate please" Bella said.

Emily smiled and said "chocolate it is". She stood up and Garcia stood up too. Penelope picked Henry up and they walked inside leaving Bella alone with JJ.

They were quiet for a while. Bella was twisting her fingers nervously because she was on the verge of speaking.

Suddenly a "I'm sorry" came out of JJ's mouth.

Bella looked up surprised and just stared at her.

"I really am" JJ said as her eyes filled with tears.

Bella stood up and sat on her lap and hugged her.

"Thank you for making sure she's was okay so she could come back" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears too.

"I'm sorry I lied to you. I know it wasn't fair" JJ said.

"I know. But she's here now. That's what matters, right?" Bella said.

"Right" JJ said.

"You and Hotch saved her life" Bella said and she really meant it everything. She truly believed that and as much as she hated the fact they lied she couldn't deny the fact that her mom was there with her and she was totally fine, she was safe and okay.

JJ kept hugging Bella and suddenly Emily, Garcia and Henry walked back to the table.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked a little worried.

"Yeah" Bella said letting go of the hug and sitting back on her own seat.

"Are you sure?" Garcia asked noting both had tears on their cheeks.

"Yes" JJ said and wiped hers, Bella did the same and then grabbed her chocolate donut and took a big bite getting chocolate all over her lips.

Everyone laughed and Emily handed her a napkin.

"Thanks" Bella said with a smile.

They finished eating and then walked back to Derek's house. When they got there JJ decided to head home so she gathered her things and said goodbye.

"Bye Bella" JJ said.

"Bye" Bella said with a little smile. JJ smiled and said "say goodbye Henry"

"Bye" the boy smiled and waved. They headed out and left.

"So… why don't we watch a movie now?" Garcia asked.

"Sure" Bella said and they sat in the living room.

They watched tv and later ordered pizza for dinner. After eating, Bella started to get sleepy. She was sitting on the big couch between Derek and Emily as they went on and on about a text Hotch had sent them regarding the Investigation.

"Uncle Derek" Bella said looking tired.

"Yes" Derek said turning to face her. "What's wrong?" He asked when he saw her face.

"My back hurts" she said sounding sad.

"Come here" he said and pulled her to his lap. He made her lay down a little resting her head on his chest. "You're okay" He said and he kept running his hand on her back and went back to talking to the women about the investigation.

After a little while Bella fell asleep.

When Penelope noticed the girl was out she said "it's been almost a month since the last time she did that"

"Yeah" Derek said pushing hair away from Bella's face as she slept peacefully in his arms.

"Did what?" Emily asked confused.

"She says her back is hurting when she wants attention" Derek said.

"What? Bella doesn't.." Emily said and suddenly stopped. She knew the girl did change a lot in the past year.

"Yeah. She was never this kind of kid, I know but..." Derek said. "We've taken her to get checked and the doctor told us that there's nothing wrong with her physically. She also told us to pay attention to when and where she would say she was is pain and after we did that we noticed that it happened every time something like this happened." Derek explained.

"Something like what?" Emily asked.

"Like, us talking about work while she just sits here quietly. It was every time." Derek said.

"Oh" Emily said now realizing.

"The doctor said that she probably saw that when it was in fact hurting she would just tell us and we would be there making sure she was okay. We wouldn't leave her side. So when she felt alone or was upset she saw that as a way of getting our attention" Garcia said. "And then when we saw what was going on we just stopped doing that, we stopped talking like this when she was with us and the back pain suddenly went away"

"I bet you were just like that when you were little" Derek told Emily and Emily laughed.

Bella woke up with the noise.

"Oh sorry baby. Shuuuu Go back to sleep" Emily said holding a laugh.

"Let me take her to bed" Derek said smiling. He stood up and carried Bella to her bedroom. He placed her down on the bed, covered her and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight princess" he said but he didn't get a goodnight back. The girl was out.

He turned the light off and headed out.

He walked back in the living room to find Emily and Garcia hugging in the other couch.

"Goodnight" Emily said.

"Night night First Lady Prentiss" Garcia smiled and Emily laughed.

"Goodnight" Derek smiled as Emily walked to the child's bedroom.

"I'm gonna head to bed too" Derek told Garcia.

"I need candy" Penelope said and ran to the kitchen.

Derek burst out laughing.

"You do you. Goodnight baby girl" he said and went to his bedroom.

He was happy Isabella was doing better with the whole situation but he was also scared. He already loved that girl before Emily left but once he started taking care of her his love just grew and grew. He felt like that was how a father loved a daughter. He felt protective of her and most of the time he was scared she would get hurt, and he wanted anything but that. He knew how vulnerable that little girl could be and he felt like as her father, in a way, he had to be there for her, making sure she was safe and okay.

…


	81. Chapter 81: Just Let It Go

…

Monday morning didn't start so great. Derek woke Bella up and she refused to go to school. He tried talking to her but she just cried and refused to get up.

"It's okay. I'll call the principal and talk to him. It's fine" Emily said and Derek walked out.

"Come here" Emily said opening her arms to the crying girl on the bed. Bella got up and hugged Emily. Emily sat on the bed and pulled Bella to her lap. "I know it's a lot baby" Emily said feeling bad. She didn't want Bella to miss school but she knew that everything that had been happening was a lot for a little kid.

After a while Derek walked in again.

"I called May and she'll watch you, okay?" He told Bella.

"What? Are you going to work?" Bella asked facing Emily, she looked clearly scared.

"We have a meeting, remember?" Emily said.

"That's right now?" Bella asked as more tears filled her eyes. She didn't want to be away from everyone.

"It's at 9. So we gotta get ready" Emily said pushing hair away from Bella's face.

"I don't wanna stay with May" Bella said.

"You can either stay with May or go to school" Derek said.

Bella looked down.

"May has churros, you know" Derek smiled and Bella looked up and when she saw his face she couldn't help but smile too. She thought he was mad at her for not wanting to go to school but she saw right there that he wasn't.

"Alright. May it is. So let's get ready" Emily said and they stood up and went to get ready.

After they were done they sat to have breakfast and took their time. Around 8:10, they headed out the door. Bella got in the back with Emily and refused to let go of her hand. She was okay with staying with May now but she was still nervous about leaving her mom.

Derek parked the car in front of the churros place and Bella got out with Emily. Derek followed them inside the shop.

"Hi. Thank you for keeping an eye on her" he told May. The woman was 62, and was a very nice lady.

"Hi my darling" she told Bella who walked to her and they hugged. "So you must be Emily?" May said.

"Yes" Emily said with a smile and shook her hand.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of this one" May said throwing one arm around Bella.

Emily and Derek smiled but when Emily looked at the girl she could see Bella was trying hard not to cry. Emily walked to her and hugged her.

"Be good for May, okay?" Emily said running her hand on Isabella's back. "We'll be back soon" she said and let go of the hug forcing herself to smile. Bella took a deep breath and let go of Emily.

"Today I'll teach you how to make that ice cream with the churros cone!" May said sounding excited and Bella gave her a little smile.

"Bye" Derek said.

"Bye" Bella whispered and they walked away. Her eyes filled with tears. May saw it and hugged her.

"I know it's hard. But they'll be back soon" she said with a smile. She let go of the hug and said "you're gonna have a lot of fun today. And I promise you can eat all the ice cream you want" May said.

Bella laughed.

"That's much better" May smiled and they walked to the kitchen.

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Emily got in the car and her heart was pounding. She also was not that great with being away from the girl.

Penelope noticed she looked worried.

"Hey you, Mama bear" Penelope said and Emily looked at her. "Don't worry. She loves that place. She's gonna be fine. May is awesome and treats Bella just like her grandkids. She's gonna be alright"

Emily nodded and gave her a small smile.

"I bet you 10 bucks they're gonna cook something crazy good for us" Derek said smiling and Penelope and Emily laughed.

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Derek drove to the meeting and everyone was nervous when they got there. They all knew so much could change in that meeting.

Everyone talked alone with the comity and then they went back in together.

"What I find interesting is that you are the experts in behavior and find nothing wrong with yours" a man said as the team just stared.

"May I?" Emily asked and the man gave her a nod.

"The journey was not traditional... But this team neutralized 4 international criminals and saved the life of two young children in the process" Emily said.

"You started a war with Ian Doyle years ago that this team and the US government had to finish" he said and Emily looked serious.

"The rest of you are dismissed. Agent Prentiss, we are not done" he said.

The team walked out and Emily just sat there. She could feel her heart pounding in her head, she was so nervous.

Outside the team went to a bench to wait for her. Penelope and Reid sat down and the others stood. JJ went to sit beside Spencer and he stood up.

"Spence" she said noticing his face.

"I'm going to the restroom" he said and just kept walking.

Penelope held JJ's hand. "He'll come around" Garcia said and JJ gave her a nod.

They waited for about 20 minutes and then Emily got out.

"How was it?" JJ asked.

"Fine" Emily said not sure of what to say.

"When will we hear from them?" Garcia asked.

"Today. Probably in a little while" Strauss said. "You can go back to BAU" she said.

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At the BAU, everyone went separate ways to their desks and offices.

Emily stood in front of her picture in the hall. She never thought she'd see one of the team members on that wall but there was her picture. She felt such sadness as she once more imagined their pain.

Suddenly she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. She turned and it was Penelope.

"We need to take this out" Garcia smiled.

Emily tried but it was screwed in.

"I'll be right back" Penelope said with a smile and walked out.

Emily just kept staring at the picture.

Rossi walked in and saw her there so he walked to her. He got to her and said with a smile "I never thought we'd be taking one of these down" and she let out a laugh.

He went to take the picture.

"I already tried. It's screwed in" Emily said.

"Are you kidding me?" Rossi said.

Suddenly Garcia walked in.

"I got it" she smiled holding up a screw driver. Rossi got it and started unscrewing it. Garcia wrapped her arm on Emily's arm and smiled excited. Hotch and JJ walked there together and JJ was smiling. Reid and Morgan walked in and stood right next to them.

Emily smiled seeing her team together.

Morgan looked at her and her smile faded as Derek walked away. Hotch noticed that Derek looked very serious and upset.

"Morgan" Aaron said and went after him.

Derek stopped close to the elevator. All the talking about what had happened and hearing Hotch and JJ explain everything, made him more upset that he didn't know Emily was okay.

"I know what you've been through. I understand that you're angry but I hope that you understand that this is not about you or me. This was about saving Emily." Hotch said as Derek just stood there very serious.

The conversation was interrupted by Strauss walking in.

"We need to talk" She told Hotch. Aaron looked at the team and they all followed him to another room.

Once they were all inside she started.

"The comity made it clear they will not support a rogue team." She said and took a deep breath. Emily looked down. "Agent Prentiss..." She said and Emily looked up. "...convinced them you are not that" she said and everyone let out a breath.

"They will be watching you closely so I suggest you play by their rules" Strauss said.

"So we're okay?" Penelope asked.

"Suspension is lifted from everyone. You can come back on Wednesday" Strauss said.

"Thank you ma'am" JJ said looking relieved.

"There may be more paperwork considering your... situation" Strauss told Emily. "But the team is lucky to have you"

Emily looked a bit confused.

"If you're interested" Strauss said.

Everyone stared at Emily.

"May I think about it?" Emily asked and Derek kept staring at her.

"Of course" Strauss said.

"Thank you" Emily said looking a bit relieved. She didn't know if she should go back to that job but she had a child at home who needed to eat so she knew she would need a job again.

"Welcome back" Strauss said and walked out.

"Emily" Derek said. "What did you tell them?" He asked.

"The truth" Emily said with a small smile.

Everyone smiled too, including Derek and Reid.

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The team stayed for a while longer at the bureau getting some paperwork they had to fill out. Once they got everything, they went to their homes. Emily and Garcia drove with Derek to pick up Bella.

"Look who's here" May said walking inside the kitchen where Bella was helping make churros. The girl smiled when she saw Emily right behind May. She put the flour bag on the table and ran to Emily.

"You took so long" Bella said as Emily hugged her tight.

"Are you ready to go?" Emily asked.

"We need to get their gift" Bella told May. The girl looked excited.

"Go on. You know where everything is" May said and Bella ran to the fridge. She opened it and took some chocolate ice cream out.

"This is heavy" Bella said making a face and Drake, one of May's grandkids that worked there, went to help her. He put it on the table and went to get the cones they had made.

"I made these all by myself" Bella said. "Well... umm kinda" she said and everybody laughed.

"I fried them 'cause she was scared to do it" Drake said. Drake was 20 years old and helped his grandma whenever he wasn't busy with college.

"They look delicious" Emily said.

"We're gonna set it up so you can eat it" Bella said excited.

"Okay" Emily smiled.

"Where's Derek?" Bella asked.

"In the car with Garcia" Emily said.

"Drake, could you go get them?" May asked knowing Bella wouldn't want Emily to go anywhere. The girl had been asking for her mom for a while before she got there.

"Sure" Drake said and went.

"Alright. Let's do this. Here" May said showing Bella what to do.

"Come learn, mom" Bella said and Emily went and stood behind her. May showed how to fill the cones and then they tried to fill one each. Once they were all done Emily and Bella carried the four ice creams cones out.

"Hi" Bella smiled when she saw Derek and Penelope siting on a table outside. "I made these" she said.

"Uhmn this looks..." Penelope said holding hers. "Oh God" She said after she took a bite.

They ate and everyone was full of complements about the treat.

"You should come here more often if that's what will happen every time" Penelope said and they all laughed, including Bella.

"She does have some talent in the kitchen" May said and Bella smiled embarrassed.

"You should see her baking cakes." Derek said. All these months Garcia and Bella tried on a lot of recipes together. Bella loved it and Penelope too. Garcia also saw it as a way to keep the girl's mind busy with something.

They finished eating and decided to head home.

"Any time you need just bring her. We love having her here" May said with a smile.

"Thank you" Emily smiled.

"Bye darling" May told Bella.

The girl hugged her and said smiling "bye, I had a lot of fun".

"You're always welcome in my kitchen, okay?" May smiled too.

"Okay. Bye" Bella said and took her mother's hand and walked to the car.

They got in, Emily on the front with Derek and Garcia went on the back with Bella.

"She's such a nice lady" Emily said.

"Yeah" Garcia said.

"She said I can call her Grandma May, like Drake does, If I want to" Bella said and everyone smiled.

"Can I?" Bella asked Emily.

"Of course you can honey" Emily smiled.

Suddenly Garcia's phone started ringing so their conversation ended and Derek started the car and drove away.

Penelope picked her phone up and it was Hilary.

"Hello" she said answering the call.

"Hi. It's me Hilary"

"Is everything alright?" Penelope asked because usually Hilary texted.

"Yeah. It's just that Chloe told me what happened with Bella at school and today Chloe texted saying Bella didn't go so I got really worried" Hilary said.

"Oh everything is okay. She's alright." Garcia said looking at Bella.

"It's just a lot, right?" Hilary said understanding.

"Yeah" Penelope said.

"I'm glad to know nothing serious happened" Hilary smiled. "Do you know if she'll go to ballet today?"

"I'm not sure. I'll see and I'll let you know" Garcia said.

"Okay. Send my love to everybody" Hilary said. "Bye"

"Bye" Penelope said and hung up.

"Who was it?" Derek asked.

"Hilary wanted to know if Bella was okay" Garcia said.

"See people get worried when you miss school" Penelope told the girl throwing one arm around her. Bella smiled embarrassed.

"She wants to know if you'll go to ballet today?" Penelope said.

Bella shook her head no.

"Why not?" Garcia asked. "You love it so much." Penelope said and Bella just looked down and remained quiet.

"You have the recital coming up before summer break. You were so excited about that honey" Garcia said.

"I just don't wanna go" Bella said really low.

"What if I go with you?" Emily asked and Bella looked up. "I'm sure they'll let me watch" Emily said with a small smile.

"Yeah! Doesn't Hilary stay there with Millie watching? Your mama can stay too" Garcia said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Alright!" Penelope smiled and hugged Bella. Derek looked at Emily and both smiled.

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At home Emily called Isabella's school and talked to the principal. She explained the situation and the man decided to let Isabella go to school only to do the tests. When Emily told Bella she was allowed to go just to do the tests, the girl was relieved. She really didn't feel ready to stay away from her mom for so long.

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Later that day, Bella got ready for dance class.

"Aww I can never get used to how cute she looks wearing that" Penelope told Emily when Bella walked in wearing a black leo, light pink tights and a black skirt.

"Can you do my hair?" She asked Penelope.

"Of course I can, my little swan lake princess" Garcia said. Bella sat on the floor in front of Penelope and the woman did a side braid into a pony tail on her hair.

"All done" Garcia said and Bella stood up.

"Are you ready?" Emily asked with a smile. She had never taken Bella to a dance class before and she was excited.

"Yes. Let me just get a jacket" Bella said and they headed off.

.

Ballet couldn't have gone better.

Hilary was happy to see the two there and Chloe was glad Bella went. The mothers sat in the gallery and watched the class. Bella couldn't help but look at the window to make sure Emily was still there. She gave her mom a small smile every time their eyes met. Emily was really happy to be watching her daughter. When Bella was little and took ballet she always wanted to go but was never able to. She was glad she could that now.

When dance was done, they said goodbye to Hilary and headed to the car.

"I loved watching you dance, Bell" Emily said with a smile and Bella smiled back.

Emily drove for a while and then parked the car close to an ice cream place.

"Why did we stop? Are we going somewhere?" Bella asked a little confused. She had not seen the ice cream place.

"Right there for a little special snack" Emily said pointing to it. Bella smiled and asked why.

"I thought since you have a bunch of little traditions with Derek and Pen, we could make some of our own now." Emily said smiling. "Like ice cream after ballet" she added. "Would you like that?"

"Every time?" Bella asked.

"Every time" Emily smiled.

"Cool" Bella smiled big.

"Alright. So let's go" Emily said and they walked out.

They had a really great time eating and talking about ballet and the upcoming recital. Once done they headed back to Derek's house. Bella showered and then they watched some tv till it was time for dinner. They ate and sat to watch a movie. Just 20 minutes into it Bella was getting sleepy so Emily said it was bed time and went to tuck the girl in. Bella asked her to stay till she was sleeping and of course Emily did just that. The child was so tired that she fell asleep really fast so Emily pulled the covers up and went back to the living room.

"She's out already?" Derek asked. It was just 9:30pm.

"Yeah. I think it was all the cooking and dancing" Emily said and they smiled.

"Well, I'm going to shower my loves" Penelope said and left Derek and Emily alone in the living room.

There was an awkward silence and then Derek said "so... Have you thought about Strauss's offer?"

Emily looked at him and said "yes"

"And..?" Derek said.

"I can't go back on the field. At least not yet" Emily said and Derek nodded agreeing.

"But I also need to work so... I don't know what I'm gonna do" she said.

"I don't want you to leave the team but I don't want you on the field either. Bella is definitely not ready for that" Morgan said.

"Maybe Hotch can give me a desk job. I don't know" Emily said.

"You should talk to him" Derek said.

"I will" Emily said.

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It was 3:48am when Bella woke up screaming. Emily pulled the girl to her lap and rocked her while the child sobbed in her arms. Derek and Penelope ran in to check on her and we're both heartbroken to see the girl like that.

"It's okay. I got it" Emily said.

Bella took a long time to sleep again but eventually she did.

Around 8, she woke up to find Emily holding her still and staring at her.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes looking a bit embarrassed. She got out of Emily's lap and laid back down on the bed.

"Did you hold me all night?" She asked.

"Yes" Emily said laying down next to the girl.

"I'm sorry" Bella said.

"Oh no baby. It's okay. Mommy doesn't mind. Alright?" Emily said and Bella nodded and hid her face on Emily's tummy.

A while later they got out of bed and went to have breakfast. Isabella refused to leave Emily's side all morning. When they sat down to eat lunch Emily said she wanted to talk to Hotch at the BAU. So Penelope suggested going to the park with Bella but the girl didn't really like the idea and looked a bit sad.

"Hey, it's okay. Look at me" Emily said and Bella looked up. "I really need to talk to him and I'll be quick. I'll meet you guys at the park afterwards I promise"

Bella wasn't so sure about it but agreed on it. So after lunch Emily went to the BAU and Derek, Garcia, Lulu and Bella went to the park.

 **.**

Emily walked inside the BAU and she felt really nervous. She didn't know if what she wanted was really a possibility but she was willing to beg for it. She went to Hotch's office and sat to talk to him. She explained it and he agreed on it.

"I can't promise that i will go on the field eventually" Emily said.

"That's alright. The team is lucky to have you" Hotch said. He knew the moment Strauss offered Emily the job back that she wouldn't take it. He knew there was no way Emily would leave Isabella at home to go work in another city.

"You'll get your desk back and whenever we're on a case you can work from here with Garcia" he said.

"Thank you so much" Emily said relieved.

"Welcome back" Hotch said handing her badge back to her.

"Thank you" Emily said with a small smile and he smiled back. "Really Aaron, for everything" she said and he gave her a nod with a small smile.

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Emily parked close to the park and walked there, excited to tell everyone the news. She spotted Garcia running around throwing a ball so Lulu could catch it. Close to them was Derek sitting on the grass with Bella laying her head on his leg. Emily walked there and when the girl saw her she ran and burst into tears.

"What happened?" Emily asked worried.

"She wanted you" Derek said.

"Oh honey it's okay. You're okay" Emily said letting go of the hug and wiping the girl's tears.

"Can we go home now?" Bella asked.

"Let's stay just for a little while. I'll be right here with you" Emily said knowing that the girl needed to regain the trust to be outside and feel safe.

She sat down close to Morgan and Bella sat next to her and refused to let go of her hand. Penelope walked to them looking exhausted. She handed Lulu's leash to Bella and said "here. I'm not 11 anymore, I can't do this" and threw herself on the ground.

Of course everyone laughed, including Bella.

"Well, I need to tell you something" Emily said.

"What is it?" Bella asked serious.

"I went to talk to Hotch about my job today" she said and Bella looked nervous. "Strauss offered me the job back" she said and Isabella just burst into tears again.

"Oh no honey. It's okay" Emily said pulled Bella to her lap. "Mommy is not traveling anymore" she said.

"You're not?" Bella asked.

"No. I'm staying at the office." Emily said running her hand on the girl back. She looked at Morgan and he gave her a nod. Both knew she had made the right decision.

"You know I have to work, but I promise it won't be like before. It's just a desk job" Emily said and Bella nodded. She made the girl sit up straight and wiped her tears.

"Are you okay with that?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said trying to stop crying.

"Hey look at me." Emily said touching the girl's chin and Bella looked up. "I'm not leaving you. Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said letting out a deep breath and hugging Emily again.

"Yes! I'll finally have someone with me now!" Garcia smiled. Emily and Derek laughed and Bella let out a small smile. Lulu started barking and waving her tail, she wanted to play.

"Come on get up" Emily said and Bella stood up. Emily stood up too, got the ball and unleashed the dog.

Emily and Bella played with Lulu while Derek and Penelope watched.

Morgan threw his arm around Penelope and she rested on him. They just sat there watching mother and daughter running around smiling.

A scene they dreamed of for months.

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Later that day, when they were home, Derek remembered Bella that her tests started on the next day so the girl sat to study. 20 minutes in, Bella walked to Emily who was talking to Garcia in the living room.

"Can you help me study?" Bella asked.

"Of course I can" Emily smiled and followed the girl to her room.

They sat there for a long time as Emily explained some American History to Bella. Once they were done with that Bella said she also had a math test, she explained she missed a few classes and didn't really tried learning what she'd missed so she asked if Reid could stop by to help her. Emily said yes so Bella called him. After 30 minutes he arrived.

"Come on in" Emily smiled answering the door. He walked in and looked very serious.

"Where is she?" He asked serious.

"Her bedroom" Emily said and he walked away.

"Reid" she said but he just kept walking. Emily went to the living room and let him be.

"Hi" Spencer said walking inside the girl's bedroom. Bella gave him a little smile and he did the same.

 **.**

Reid explained everything Bella wanted to know and then made up some exercises for her to do. She finished it and got every single one right.

"Very good" he smiled.

"Thanks for helping me" Bella said.

Suddenly Emily walked in.

"There's a snack waiting for you two" Emily said and walked out. Bella noticed Reid looked really serious and didn't look up at Emily.

"Are you mad at her?" Bella asked.

"What?" Reid said.

"Are you mad at my mom?" Bella asked.

Spencer just stared at her.

"It's okay" she said and hugged him. They hugged go a while and the Bella let go and sat back on her chair. Reid had tears in his eyes.

"I was mad too. But more at Hotch and JJ actually" Bella said.

"You were?" Reid asked surprise she said was and not am.

"Yeah. I was. It's just not worth it to be mad at them anymore" Bella said and Reid looked down. "I mean... She's here. And as much as it hurts like hell that they lied to us... She's here. She's okay. I just wanted her to be okay" Bella said and a few tears fell.

Reid let his tears fall too.

"I don't think I'll ever trust JJ and Hotch like I did before but... My mom is here. She's alive because of them and... I'm happy for that" Bella said.

"I'm happy for that too. I just..." Reid said.

"I know" Bella said and hugged him again.

They hugged for a while suddenly Derek walked in.

"Is everything okay?" Morgan asked worried.

"Yes" Bella said letting go of the hug and wiping her tears. "We'll be right out" Bella said. Derek nodded understanding and left the room.

Reid stood up wiping his face.

"Uncle Spencer" Bella said and he looked at her.

"I love you" she said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I love you too Isabella" he said hugging her back.

She let go and gave him a little smile. He smiled back and they walked out. They ate chicken sandwiches Garcia had made and then Spencer said goodbye to everyone and left.

"Are you done studying?" Derek asked.

"Yup" Bella said.

"Go shower and come sit with us to watch a movie" he said and Bella headed to her bedroom while the grownups went to the living room.

Emily sat on the couch and suddenly her phone started ringing. It's was Clyde, her old friend from Interpol.

"Hello" She said.

"Hi. I have some news for you" he said serious.

"What is it?" Emily asked serious fearing the worse.

"He's dead" Clyde said.

"What?" Emily asked.

"He's dead. Ian Doyle is dead" he said.

"What do you mean he's dead?" Emily said in disbelief. Derek and Garcia just stared at her.

"I did it. I couldn't let him get away again. We were transporting him and he fought with an officer so I took my chance. It's over Emily. Forever" Clyde said and Emily breathed deep. She was relieved, she couldn't deny that.

"Well, I gotta go. I just had to let you know" he said.

"What's going to happen to you now?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it" he said. "Well, I gotta go"

"Okay" Emily said. "Thank you Clyde. Really for everything" Emily said.

"Goodbye" he said and hung up.

Emily put the phone down and her face showed she was in shock.

"What happened?" Garcia asked worried. "Who died?"

"Doyle" Emily said.

"What?" Morgan and Penelope asked in unison.

"They were taking him to the prison and Clyde just..." Emily said.

"He's dead. He's really dead?" Derek asked.

"Yes" Emily said.

Derek rested his head on his hand and breathed out relieved. All he wanted was for that man to be dead and gone forever.

"Are you gonna tell Bella right now?" Garcia asked.

"Yes. I have to" Emily said.

"I agree" Derek said.

Bella finished showering and went to the living room.

"Baby come here." Emily said and Bella sat on her lap. Emily looked at Derek not sure how to bring it up so Derek went into action.

"Bella, did you know that Interpol was taking Doyle to prison?" Derek asked and tears immediately filled the child eyes and she looked clearly scared.

"I don't wanna talk about him" she said and burst into tears. Emily hugged her tight.

"He died" Emily said. "He's gone forever baby."

Bella looked up.

"He's dead" Emily said.

"How?" Bella asked.

"Clyde" was all Emily said and hugged the girl tight again. Emily could feel Isabella body releasing all the tension.

"It's all over now. Forever" Emily said and Isabella started to calm down.

No one said anything anymore. Emily held the girl in her arms and they started watching the movie. Thirty minutes into it, Isabella fell asleep. Derek carried her to bed and went back to finish watching the movie.

"She's out" he said walking back in.

They watched the movie, then some senseless tv show and then went to bed around 11.

Emily was glad she didn't have to worry about Doyle ever ever again. He was gone forever. She felt such relieve when she laid down next to her daughter that night. It was like she could breathe again.

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 **(Wednesday)**

Isabella woke up crying a few times throughout the night and Emily was right by her side making sure she was okay.

It was a hard night.

Around 8, Emily woke up and left Bella sleeping on the bed. She headed to the kitchen and found Derek and Penelope having breakfast.

"Good morning" Emily said walking in.

"I heard some crying last night. Is she alright?" Penelope said.

"Yeah. She woke up a few times but she's okay" Emily said.

"What's the time of her test today?" Derek asked.

"1:30" Emily said.

"Do you need me to take her or..?" Derek said.

"No it's fine. I got it" Emily said with a smile and Derek gave her a nod.

"Well, WE gotta go" Penelope said looking at Derek. "And you enjoy your baby and anything just call" she said and Emily smiled.

"Yeah. Just call" Derek said standing up.

"Sure" Emily said and they headed to work.

She finished drinking her coffee, fed Lulu and went back to bed. She laid next to Bella and the girl moved closer to her. Emily smiled just happy to be there. She tucked a lock of hair behind the child's ear and kept smiling. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

About 20 minutes later Bella woke up. Emily had just fallen asleep so she woke up with the girl moving on the bed.

"Good morning" Emily told Bella. The girl looked at her and smiled.

"Hi" Bella said.

"Hi" Emily laughed and threw her arm over the girl.

"Let's eat breakfast?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

They went to the kitchen and Bella asked where Penelope was.

"They went to work" Emily said.

"Already?" Bella asked not looking very happy.

"Yeah" Emily said and wrapped the girl in a hug. "It's gonna be alright" she said.

"When are you going to work?" Bella asked.

"In about 2 weeks" Emily said. She had arranged everything with Hotch.

"Just two weeks?" Bella asked looking up and not letting go of the hug.

"Come here. Let's sit down" Emily said and they walked to the table. Emily sat and pulled Bella to her lap. "I go to work at 8 and you'll go with me. You can sit at my desk and then we'll be home around 6. If the team has a case then we'll stay at the office but I already told Hotch that we're not sleeping there, okay?" Emily explained and Bella nodded still looking a bit sad.

"I promise you" Emily said and hugged Bella. "Now let's eat because I'm starving" she said making a face and Bella smiled.

Emily made waffles and they ate together. Then Bella went through her notes for the test and went to get ready. They watched some tv, then had lunch and headed to the school.

Isabella was really nervous, not about the test itself but about seeing all the people that knew everything that happened.

As they walked to the school's entrance Emily could tell the girl was nervous.

"Mom" Bella said stopping. Emily looked at her. "I don't feel good" Bella said.

"I'll stay here with you. I'll wait at the principal's office, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Take a deep breath." Emily said putting her hand on Isabella's back and making her walk. "You got this" she smiled and they walked inside.

They were greeted by the principal.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked Bella and she just nodded yes. He looked at Emily and knew the girl was not feeling better.

"Is it okay if I wait for her here?" Emily asked.

"Of course" he said.

"Thank you" Emily said.

"So let's go?" He asked Bella and she nodded yes. They walked to the girl's classroom and everyone was sitting just waiting for her to arrive to get started.

"Come on in. Take a seat" the teacher said and Bella walked in. Her face got red as she felt everyone staring at her as she walked to a seat on the back. Emily and the principal walked back to his office, leaving the girl there.

Bella looked at Chloe and her friend mouthed "just breath" and gave her a thumbs up. Bella took a deep breath and the teacher started handing out the tests.

She got hers and did it as fast as she could. She was the second one to finish. She handed it to her teacher and walked out. She went straight to the water fountain and drank some water, and then she took deep breaths trying to calm herself down. When she looked up she found Emily right next to her.

She hugged her mother's waist.

"You were fast" Emily said letting go of the hug. "Did you actually do the test or..?" Emily said.

"I did" Bella said. "Can we just go now?"

"Sure" Emily said and they walked to the car. They got inside and Emily asked "Do you want to go get ice cream again?"

"No I just want to go home" Bella said.

"Bella, why is it so hard for you to just go in there for a little while?" Emily asked wanting to know exactly why.

"It's hard because I feel like..." Bella said and her eyes filled with tears once again. "I feel like they're judging me and like... like something is gonna happen to you and I just can't relax and not think about it" Bella said.

Emily grabbed Bella's hand.

"Honey, nothing is going to happen to me. I'm here and I'm okay. Nothing is bad is going to happen." Emily told her.

"You used to tell me that and then... Just look at what happened" Bella said.

"He is gone. He can't hurt us anymore honey. We are safe. There's nothing for you to worry about. I wouldn't have come back if it was still dangerous. You know Hotch wouldn't have let me." Emily said.

"Are you sure mommy?" Bella asked looking outside as a couple walked by.

"Yes baby. I am sure" Emily said and wrapped Bella in a hug. "Look it's okay to be scared but it's not okay to let that rule your life. You can't stop living because you're afraid of something bad happening" Emily said serious. "Do you understand me?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella said. "It's just hard"

"I know it is. But you can do it. You're my tough cookie you can do anything!" Emily said and tickled Bella who smiled.

"See, that looks so much better" she said. "Doesn't it feel better too? To be smiling instead of crying"

"Yeah" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"So how about that ice cream?" Emily said and Bella smiled.

"Buckle up" Emily said letting go of the girl.

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They headed back home after getting ice cream and Bella studied for her tests on the following day. Derek got home at 6 and she greeted him with a big hug.

"How was the test?" Derek asked.

"Alright, I guess" Bella said.

"Can I expect an A?" He asked.

"Sure. I just don't know if you'll get it though" Bella said and everyone laughed glad to see her sense of humor coming back.

The girl went back to her room to study. Once she was done she showered and then sat in the living room with everyone.

 **.**

"So I was thinking we could maybe look at a few houses tomorrow" Emily said out of nowhere.

"Tomorrow?" Bella said.

"Yeah. I have a list picked out and I thought we could take a look" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said and rested her head on Emily's arm.

Derek smiled and said "I'll get it. You hug this one" he said and went to get the list. He gave it to Emily and she called and scheduled a few visits.

"Is anybody hungry?" Garcia asked as Emily hung up the phone.

"I am" Bella said and they all smiled. They ordered some Mexican food, which got there very fast, and sat to eat.

After dinner, 'Doctor Who' was on so they sat to watch. Midway thru the episode Derek asked if Emily had talked to Bella about work. He knew she would be back in 2 weeks but he wasn't sure if she had told the girl that.

"Yeah. We talked this morning, right?" She said tucking a lock of hair behind the girl's ear. Bella was sitting on the couch between Derek and Emily.

"And how you feel about going back?" Garcia asked and it started.

They talked about that for a long time and as time went on Bella started to not be able to concentrate on the episode. All she was hearing was them talking about work and she hated it. She felt like her head was going to explode as all the thoughts of sleeping in the office and the team traveling, and Doyle, filled her head. She just couldn't take it anymore.

"Uncle Derek" she said as her eyes filled with tears. Once again she didn't know how to explain that she needed a hug to help it all go away so she went with "my back hurts"

Derek pulled the girl to his lap once again. Everyone in the room knew that there was nothing wrong with her back.

"Where does it hurt princess?" He asked.

"My back" Bella said crying.

"Can I take a look?" He asked already lifting her shirt but she said "no!" and pushed it back.

"Hey it's okay." Derek said knowing she didn't want Emily to see her back.

"No" Bella cried looking at Emily and then at him.

"It's okay. There's nothing to hide there honey" Emily said and Bella let him look.

Derek lifted her shirt up and Emily fell like her heart had traveled to her throat as she saw the clover and a few other scars on her daughter's back. As Derek lifted it up she saw the Taser scars that were almost gone but she could still see it. She took a deep breath.

"Your back looks fine, Bella" Derek said letting go of her shirt.

"But it hurts." Bella said resting her head on his chest.

"Baby, does it really hurts or are you just a little upset and needed a cuddle?" Emily asked.

"It hurts" Bella said.

"Bella look at me" Derek said and the girl looked up. "Did you just need cuddle?" He asked.

The girl took a little while thinking and then nodded yes just burst into tears. Derek hugged her tight as Penelope and Emily just watched, both felt really bad.

"Princess, you don't have to lie to us. You could have just asked" he said.

"Sorry" Bella cried.

"It's alright" Derek said.

"But don't lie anymore, okay?" He said and she nodded yes. "Do you promise me you won't lie?" He asked and she nodded.

"I wanna hear it" he said.

"Yes" Bella said.

"Yes what?" Emily said.

"I won't lie anymore" Bella said still crying.

"Alright" Derek said. "Good girl" he said pushing hair away from her face.

"Do you wanna tell us why you lied?" Emily asked. Bella took her hand to her face and tried hiding it.

"You don't have to. It's okay" Derek said hugging her tight.

"Can I go to bed?" Bella said. She was so embarrassed about everything, embarrassed about lying and about Emily seeing her back.

Derek looked at Emily not sure if that was a good idea. Emily shook her head no.

"Why don't you stay here us? You wanted me hold, didn't you?" Derek said.

"I wanna go bed" Bella said.

"You can sleep right here with us, bunny" Garcia said.

"No" Bella cried.

Emily knew Isabella wasn't sleepy. She knew it was because of the lying and because of her back. She knew the girl wasn't okay with showing it.

"Bella look at me" Emily said lifting her shirt up to show her stomach. There was big scar there.

Isabella didn't look up.

"Bella. Look at me" Emily said again and the girl looked up.

When Isabella saw the scar on her mother's stomach she immediately went silent. She just stared at it.

"I'm not hiding this, am I?" Emily said and the girl stayed quiet. "There is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about" she said and Bella looked her in the eyes. Tears were falling rapidly from the child's eyes but she didn't make a sound.

Emily put her shirt back down and opened her arms to the girl. "Come here" she said and Bella went. Emily held her daughter as the girl once again sobbed in her arms.

"It's okay baby. It's okay." Emily kept saying.

Derek and Penelope just sat there in a bit of a shock after seeing Emily's scar.

Everyone didn't say another word until Isabella fell sleep a few minutes later.

"She's asleep" Emily said looking up at Derek who was still in a bit of a shock.

"Are you okay?" Garcia asked her.

"Yes. And ummn... I'm sorry you had to see that... But I think she needed to" Emily said.

Derek nodded knowing that was exactly right.

"Derek can you carry her to bed?" Emily asked.

"Of course" he said. He picked the girl up and headed to the bedroom. He placed Bella down and she woke up.

"Mommy" she said barely awake.

"She's coming" Derek said covering her up and then Emily walked in. "She was asking for you" he said and Emily went to the bed.

"Mommy is here" Emily said laying next to the girl. Bella moved closer to Emily, grabbed her hand and closed her eyes again.

"Anything just..." Derek said.

"Thank you" Emily whispered and Derek gave her a nod and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Penelope hugged him and started crying. It was a bit too much for her.

"It's okay" he told her.

Inside the room Emily kept running her fingers through Isabella's hair till they were both fast asleep.

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 **(Thursday)**

Bella woke up that morning and found Emily asleep next to her. She went a bit further down on the bed and faced her mother's stomach. She carefully lifted Emily's shirt revealing the big scar. Isabella just stared at it.

Suddenly Emily opened her eyes and saw Bella there.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked surprised.

Isabella let go of the shirt and hid her face on the covers.

"Bella... Hey" Emily said petting her hair and the girl looked up.

"It's okay honey. I don't mind" Emily said hugging the girl. "You can look at it, I don't care. I'm not hiding any of it from you"

Bella stayed silent.

"Honey, can I tell you something?" Emily asked and Bella nodded. "So look at me" she said and Bella looked up.

"Scars are not always pretty but they are there to remind us of how tough we are. You shouldn't be ashamed of it, neither embarrassed about it" Emily said.

"But all they remember me of... is that I got hurt" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"But you're here... And I'm here. We're together and okay." Emily said wiping tears from her daughter's cheeks. "Baby I know, what that man did to us was horrible but we made it through. We made it baby, we are okay now. We are together and our lives are going and where are they now? They're gone. He's gone. And we're here. And we're okay. And you should never hide this. You should never let a stupid mark dictate what you will or not do... or what you will wear. You should never be ashamed of this. Okay?" Emily said as Bella just kept crying. "You are a fighter honey. You are so so tough. You should never be ashamed of a scar you got from a fight."

"But I wasn't fighting anyone" Bella cried.

"Yes you were. You were so brave in there. You were braver than I was, baby." Emily said unable to keep her tears in. "You've been fighting really hard since he took you. But it's time to stop now. It's okay to stop now." Emily said as Bella hugged her tighter and tighter and just kept sobbing.

"It's okay to let go… because we already won. And you have to let go. You need to let go" Emily said sitting up and taking Bella with her. They both rested on the headboard and kept hugging.

"You are the toughest little girl I've ever met. I am so proud of you. And I don't care if you have a scar or not, that doesn't matter baby, that doesn't change who you are." She said. "You are my little fighter, Bella. And I am very thankful that you are here with me to show me yours scars."

"I'm thankful you're here to" Bella said between sobs.

Emily pulled Bella to her lap.

"Don't be ashamed of that or embarrassed about it anymore, okay? You have no reason to be" Emily said pushing hair away from Bella's face.

"Do you understand what I explained to you?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. "It's just hard" she cried.

"I know it is. It took me a long time to understand that too. But I will be here and I'll help, okay? Mommy will help you" Emily said tightening the hug.

Isabella just rested her head on her mother's chest and let herself calm down. Emily held the girl till both of them had stopped crying. She wiped one last tear that fell on Isabella's cheek.

"I love you mommy" Bella said.

"I love you to, Bell" Emily said tightening the hug once again.

Outside the room Derek smiled.

He heard the whole thing. He was going to walk in to wake them up but he heard them talking and just stood there listening.

And right there he knew that those two inside the room would be okay. He could see Emily still had a way with Bella, Emily was still the one the girl needed. He knew everything would be okay now.

…


	82. Chapter 82: The Wait Is Over

…

Emily held Bella for a while and then they went out of the room to have breakfast. When they walked out Derek was on his way there again.

"Good morning" Derek said smiling proudly at Emily.

"Good morning" Emily said with a confused look. She didn't know why he was smiling like that. Bella walked to Derek and hugged him.

"There are some pancakes waiting for you" he smiled and let go of the hug.

Bella and Emily walked to the kitchen and sat to eat. Derek sat with them and a little while after Penelope also joined.

"I finished Gavin's gift yesterday" Derek said.

"Thanks" Bella smiled.

"Now we just need to get that watch you said he wants" Derek said and she nodded.

"So when is the party?" Emily asked.

"Next Thursday at 4" Derek said.

"Oh! Colette texted to let me know it's a pool party" Penelope said excited and everyone smiled.

Emily had noticed Derek smiling at her during breakfast, so when Penelope went to change and Bella said she was going to shower and left, she had to ask him why.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked him.

"Yeah" he said finishing his coffee.

"Why are you smiling at me like this?" She asked.

"Oh" he said smiling. "I heard you talking to her this morning." He said and Emily looked a bit serious. "I'm sorry. I was going to wake you guys up and you were talking. It was too adorable not to hear" he said and Emily smiled. "You're amazing with her" he added and Emily blushed.

Suddenly Garcia walked in.

"We gotta go" she said and Derek stood up.

"Anything just call" Derek told Emily and she nodded.

"Bye bye mama bear" Penelope said and they left.

Emily finished her coffee and then went and filled Lulu's and Sergio's food bowl. The dog ran there while the cat stayed asleep on the couch.

"Good girl" Emily petted Lulu's back as the dog ate.

She stood up and headed to her daughter's bedroom. She changed her clothes and then sat on the bed. Suddenly Isabella's phone rang. Emily picked it up from the nightstand and it was Jeremy.

"Hello" she said.

"Emily?" Jeremy asked a bit surprised.

"Hi. It's me" Emily said.

"Hi. Umm Bella texted me asking if I knew. I wasn't sure what she was talking about so I called Derek and he just told me you were back" Jeremy explained.

Before Isabella went to shower she stopped in her room and texted her brother. She wanted to know if he knew about it too.

"Yeah. It's been a few days. I'm sorry no one called to let you know but you can imagine how things are around here" Emily said.

"Is she doing okay with all of this?" He asked.

"She's alright. Better than what I expected, if I'm being honest" Emily said.

"She's not mad at you, is she?" Jeremy asked.

"She was for little while but I think she gets it now" Emily said.

"Good"

"Don't worry. I'm here now and she'll be okay" Emily said.

"I know she will." Jeremy said and Emily smiled. "And your friends did an amazing job with her" he added.

"They did" Emily smiled.

There was a bit of silence and then Jeremy said "do you think I should tell her that I knew or…?"

"Tell her. The lying needs to stop Jeremy" Emily said.

"I agree" he said. He did agree but he was scared Bella was going to be mad at him too.

Emily could hear in his voice he was a bit scared.

"Do you want me to tell her?" Emily asked.

"Would you do that?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course" she said. "Maybe it's best. I'll explain everything to her"

"I'd like that" he said letting out a deep breath.

Suddenly Emily heard Bella turning the shower off.

"She finished showering. I gotta go" she said.

"Okay." Jeremy said. "I'm really glad you're back" he said.

"Me too" Emily smiled. "Bye"

"Bye" he said and they hung up.

Emily put the phone down on the bed and just sat there waiting for the girl.

Bella got dressed and went to her bedroom to find Emily there.

"Is everything okay?" Bella asked when she saw Emily looked serious.

"Come here baby" Emily said and Bella walked to the bed and sat right in front of her mother.

Emily went on and explained that Jeremy knew the truth. Bella was a bit upset with that but when Emily told her that he had to know in order for Her to stay with Derek and Penelope she stopped crying and was more understanding of it.

"I'm sorry about all the lying baby. You know it was necessary to keep us safe" Emily said.

Bella looked up and just nodded.

"Come here" Emily said and Bella sat next to her mother who wrapped her arms around the girl. They stayed there for a while and then Bella checked the time on her phone and said she needed to study a bit more for her tests so she went to her desk and Emily went to the living room. She got her phone and tried to schedule a doctor's appointment for 1:30, which was the time Bella would be in school, but they only had one spot available at 3 so she took that and decided to just take the girl with her. Then she got the laptop and sat in the living room to look for a few more houses while Bella studied.

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At 1:10pm Emily drove Bella to school. The girl looked really nervous again but Emily knew she'd be okay. Once they got there, Emily walked in with the girl and wished her good luck. Bella walked to her classroom and Emily waited at the hall.

About an hour later, Isabella walked out looking really pale. Emily noticed that and couldn't help but look worried.

"Are you okay?" She asked the girl who just wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.

"What's wrong baby?" Emily asked.

"Nothing. Let's just go" Bella said. She felt the same way she did the day before. She felt like something bad was about to happen.

Emily let go of the hug and stared at her daughter.

"What happened?" She asked but got no answer. "Did you feel the same way you did yesterday?" She asked and Bella nodded wiping a few tears that escaped.

"Let's get that healing ice cream again then" Emily said with a small smile and the girl couldn't help but smile too. It was there for just a second but Emily saw it and smiled even bigger. "Let's go" she said throwing one arm around Isabella's shoulder.

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At the ice cream place Emily checked the clock and it was 2:45. She had to go to her doctor's appointment.

"Bella, I have a little check-up today. Do you mind going with me?" Emily asked.

"To the hospital?" Bella asked not sounding very happy.

"Yes" Emily said. Bella looked down as she thought about it.

"It's just for me baby. They won't check you today" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said and Emily gave her a little smile.

They finished eating and headed to the clinic.

Emily noticed Isabella looked extremely nervous when they walked inside. The girl had a tight grip on her hand and was walking a step behind.

"It's okay Bell" Emily said giving the girl's hand a squeeze. She went to the front desk and the lady sent her to an exam room. Emily sat down on a chair and pulled Bella to her lap.

"Mommy" Bella said as she started to feel sick.

"It's okay. Just breathe. They're going to look at me. Not you. It's okay" Emily said running her hand on her daughter's back.

Suddenly the doctor walked in and for their surprise it was Sarah Sullivan.

"Umm I schedule with a general" Emily said a bit confused as Bella hugged her tighter.

"Oh I am one too." Sullivan said with a smile. "Good to see you" she added and Emily smiled. The doctor had learned that Emily was alive from Garcia who let her know on two days before that appointment. The doctor had become friends with Penelope.

"Hi Bella" the woman said but Bella didn't look up.

Sarah noticed the girl was breathing quite heavily.

"Is she okay?" She asked.

"She's a little nervous" Emily said trying to make Bella let go of the hug and sit up straight but failing.

"Honey we are here for your mom today. Not you. There's no reason for you to be scared" Doctor Sullivan said but Bella didn't even move.

"Emily, could you sit on the exam table please?" she said.

Bella let go and Emily got up. Bella quickly sat back on the chair and kept trying to take deep breaths.

"So do you have any concerns or...?" Sarah said and Emily started talking about things. She mentioned back pain and some other things and the doctor wrote everything down. Both women couldn't help but feel concern about how Bella was in there. The kid was struggling.

Sarah looked at Emily and Emily clearly looked like she was feeling bad. Sarah kneed down in front of Bella and said "you like to read, don't you?"

Bella looked up at her, finding it strange that she was asking her that.

"We have a small library here. Do you want to go check it out?" She asked.

Bella shook her head no and looked at Emily. Her eyes filled too much and tears started falling. Emily got out of the exam table and hugged the girl. "It's okay baby. It's alright" she kept saying.

"Do you want to wait outside sweetheart?" The doctor asked and Bella nodded yes.

The girl had a few check-ups since it all happened and most of them did not go well. She just hated being in the hospital now and she started getting really nervous and anxious every time she was there.

"You can wait outside with a friend of mine. Come on" Sarah said and grabbed Bella's hand.

"Here take this with you. My wallet is in there if you need a drink or something" Emily said handing her bag to Bella. The girl went outside with the doctor and they went to the front desk.

"Raelyn, can you keep an eye on this one for me? Just for a few minutes" the doctor asked the front desk lady.

"Sure. She can sit here with me" Raelyn said.

Sarah went behind the desk and pulled a chair for Bella. The girl sat there and tried to take deep breaths.

"Anything just go get me" Sarah told Raelyn who nodded.

"And you... If you want you can come back okay? Just knock on the door first" she said.

"Okay" Bella said wiping her face as people watched her.

The doctor went back to the exam room and left the girl outside. Bella sat next to Raelyn and her breathing slowly went back to normal.

"Do you want some chips?" Raelyn asked handing a bag of Lays to the girl. Bella took two and handed the bag back.

"We can share" Raelyn said. She felt bad for the girl. She had seen Bella a lot of times in there and she knew what the girl had been through.

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After about 40 minutes Emily walked out of the exam room. They had done a lot of exams and talked for a while.

"Bye" Bella told the front desk lady and ran to her mother.

"Are you feeling better?" Emily asked and Bella nodded. "Do you think you're well enough to look at some houses?" She asked and Bella nodded again. "Alright" Emily smiled letting go of the hug and grabbing the girl's hand.

They walked to the car and then drove to see some houses.

They ended up looking at two houses about 20-30 minutes from Derek's. Bella liked the big backyard one of them had but overall they didn't really like the houses.

"We'll look at another tomorrow" Emily told the girl as they walked to the car after leaving the second and last house of the day.

"How about some food now?" Emily asked and Bella gave her a little smile. They grabbed some chick-fil-a and then headed home. When they got there, Bella went straight to the bathroom to shower. When she finished, she grabbed her clothes on the sink to put it on but something stopped her. She suddenly felt a need to take a look at her back. She tried using the mirror but she wasn't tall enough. She tried turning her head but failed to get a good view of it all. So she put her clothes on and walked out of the bathroom looking for her mother.

"Mom?" Bella said walking inside the bedroom. But Emily wasn't there. The girl walked to the living room and found Emily watching tv alone. When the woman saw the child she smiled and Bella sat on her lap.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked just knowing something was going on.

Bella looked in her eyes and said "I want to see how it looks like"

Emily just stared at the girl for a while. "See what baby?" Emily asked.

"My back" Bella said very low.

"Let's go. I'll show you a trick" Emily said standing up making Bella stand and follow her. Emily went to Penelope's room and got a small mirror. She went to the bathroom and placed Bella on a chair in front of the mirror on the wall with the girl's back facing the wall.

"Now look in this" Emily said holding the smallest mirror.

Isabella looked at it and she could see the other mirror reflecting in the small one.

"Now lift your shirt" Emily said and Bella looked extremely nervous and tense. "I'll do it" Emily said just knowing the girl wouldn't.

She lifted Isabella's shirt and Bella looked in the mirror. The child felt her heart pounding fast. She took a deep breath and just let it sink. She felt scared but at the same time relieved that it didn't look as bad as she thought it did.

"You can barely see these ones already" Emily said touching some of the scars and making Bella flinch.

Bella pushed her shirt down and said "thanks" and got off the chair.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked surprised at how fast the girl was done with looking at it.

"Yes" Bella said grabbing the chair.

Emily knew the girl was lying.

She made Bella drop the chair and immediately hugged the child who just sank in her mother's arms. Emily sat on the chair and pulled Bella to her lap.

"It doesn't look bad honey. You saw" Emily said.

Bella just stayed quiet. She wasn't crying but she was upset.

"It's going to go away, right?" The little girl asked.

"Yes" Emily said. She wished she was 100% sure that would happen but she knew that Bella would have some of those scars for the rest of her life.

"Come watch a movie with me" Emily smiled and they went to the living room. Emily sat with Bella on the couch.

Half way through it, Derek and Penelope arrived.

"How was your day, my love?" Penelope asked as she walked inside.

Emily smiled at her and then looked down at the girl sleeping next her. They had been cuddling and Bella ended up falling asleep just a few minutes after the film started.

Penelope and Derek smiled.

"Did you guys have dinner? We got pizza" Derek said.

"We already ate but I won't turn down pizza" Emily said as he placed the pizza in the center table.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower and I'll be right back" Derek said and headed to his bathroom. Penelope sat got some soda in the kitchen and then sat down in the living room.

"How long has she been asleep?" Garcia asked.

"About an hour" Emily said.

"Do you think she'll eat?" Penelope asked.

"I doubt it" Emily said. "But I'll ask" she said. Then she ran her hand on Bella's back and said "baby, Morgan got pizza. Do you want to eat some"

Bella moved and blinked. "No" the girl moaned.

Emily and Penelope laughed.

"I should take her to bed" Emily said and smiled. She picked Bella up and the girl woke up.

"Mommy, you can't carry me" Bella said really sleepy but worried.

"It's okay. The doctor said it's fine now" Emily smiled at her daughter.

After hearing that Isabella smiled big and wrapped her arms tight around her mother's neck.

Emily kept smiled and slightly rocked the girl.

"Let's go to bed" she said. "Say goodnight to Penny"

"Goodnight" Bella smiled at Penelope, touching the left side of her face on her mother's right side.

Garcia smiled big as Emily carried the girl to bed for the first time in months.

 **.**

"Sleep tight Bell" Emily smiled tucking the girl in.

"Night mommy" Bella said with a small smile and turned to the side. The girl was exhausted.

Emily walked back to the living room with a big smile on her face.

"You carried her to bed" Derek smiled when she walked in.

"Yeah. The doctor said I'm perfectly fine now" Emily said.

"Good" Derek smiled.

They ate the pizza, finished watching the movie and then went to bed.

Emily walked back in the bedroom and Bella was fast asleep hugging her blanket and Duffy. She smiled. She could never have enough of that. She changed her clothes and then laid next to her daughter and Bella moved closer to her. Emily smiled and closed her eyes.

She was able to relax that night. She was happy. She had a good day. She was right where she was supposed to be.

Right next to her daughter.

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The next day nothing much happened in the morning.

Emily and Bella stayed at Derek's house and then Emily took Bella to school around 1pm. The girl had a French test.

"How was it?" Emily asked as they walked out of school.

"Well" Bella said with a small smile. Emily threw one arm over the girl's shoulder and they walked to the car.

"House hunting today?" Emily asked with a smile.

"Sure" Bella said with a small smile. The girl was excited to get a new house and move in with Emily again but she couldn't deny the fact that she was also very nervous.

Emily drove to a house a couple minutes away from the school. They looked around and absolutely hated it.

"Thank you so much. We'll talk and anything I'll call" Emily told the owner.

Emily and Bella got inside the car.

"Did you like that one?" Bella asked as she buckled up.

"Not at all." Emily said making a face. "You?"

"Hated it" Bella said and both laughed.

"We have another one to look at today but I was thinking about grabbing some food and taking to the team before that. Would you like to do that?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella said.

Emily drove to Chili's, got some good and headed to the BAU.

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"We brought food" Emily said as she walked in. Bella held the glass door open for her.

Penelope and JJ quickly made their way to Emily and helped her with the bags. They went to the conference room.

"Hey look who's here" David said with a smile.

Derek wrapped Bella in a hug. "How was the test?" He asked.

"Good" she said.

"What subject?" Reid asked.

"French" Bella said.

"I'm sure you'll get an A+" Derek said and everyone smiled.

They sat to eat. Everyone was there but Hotch.

Once they were done, Emily said they had to go look at another house so they said goodbye and she left with Bella.

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As Emily parked the car in front of the house she couldn't help but hope that was the one. She loved the front of the house and it was a great neighborhood. It was 10 minutes away from Isabella's school and just a few minutes from Derek's house.

"That's pretty" Bella said as she saw the big white house with black window frames.

"The door is red mom" Bella said with a smile when she saw it.

"Let's go look inside" Emily smiled and they went.

They looked around the house and pretty much smiled the entire time. It was perfect.

The first floor had a little front hall with coat hangers and a bench; they walked in further and entered the living room and the kitchen. Everything was open and they loved that. Next to the stairs to the second floor there was a door. They walked in and it was an office. Then they went upstairs and found two master bedrooms with bathrooms and closets, which was perfect for each of them, and one smaller guest bedroom. They went to the third and last floor and Emily smiled when she saw it was a big opened space, she thought that would make a good play room/office for Bella.

They went down and checked the basement which had a laundry room and a big carpeted room which Emily thought would make a great movie room. Then they went to the backyard.

"It has pool!" Bella said excited. The girl had loved everything she saw and the pool was the cherry on top.

Emily smiled and how excited Bella was.

"As you can see we have a fence. That's because of the dog. You can take it out if you'd like" the lady said pointing to the tall white fence that surround the entire backyard.

"The fence is perfect. We also have a dog" Emily smiled.

"The pool is here and we have a barbecue area, the swing set is right there next to the garage." The lady explained.

Emily couldn't help but smile as she saw Bella looking at everything with a big smile on her face.

They looked at the garage and then Emily talked to the lady about the price while Bella played on the swing set.

Emily peeked at the girl from time to time and couldn't help but feel happy. She could see them having a beautiful life in that house.

She made an offer and then they left.

"So..?" Emily asked Bella as they buckled up.

"I liked this one" Bella said.

"Just liked?" Emily asked making a face. "You were smiling the whole time" she said and Bella laughed.

"I loved it. Can we get it?" Bella said.

"I made an offer so now we need to wait to see if they'll accept it" Emily said.

"So we're buying this one?" Bella asked really excited.

"Calm down! I made an offer, we gotta wait now" Emily said happy about the girl's reaction.

They headed to Derek's house and Bella was all smiles.

.

Around 7:45pm, Derek and Penelope arrived and Emily told them about the house and how Bella loved it. They were very happy for her.

They had pizza for dinner, watched some tv and then headed to bed.

"Is that house really the one?" Emily asked Bella. Emily loved it but she wanted to know if that was really what her daughter wanted.

"Yes" Bella said nodding and hugged Emily.

Emily kissed the girl's cheek and covered her up.

"Goodnight" she said.

"Night mommy" Bella said.

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Around 4am, Emily was asleep when a dream filled her mind. She was climbing a hill to try to get to her daughter who was on the top.

She suddenly woke up. She was sweating. She hated that dream. She always hated that dreams

She stared at the girl fast asleep next to her for a while and then just picked Bella up.

Isabella moved and opened her eyes.

"Shuuuuuu it's me. It's okay. I just need this tonight" Emily said getting Bella to a comfortable position. Bella closed her eyes and relaxed in her mother's embrace.

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 **(Saturday)**

Emily woke up that morning and she was sitting up on the bed holding Bella. Her back was hurting but she didn't really care.

She put the girl down and checked her phone. It was 9am. She heard a noise in the kitchen so she covered Bella up and went to the kitchen.

"Good morning" Morgan said.

"Good morning. What are you doing?" Emily asked as she saw Derek shirtless and sweaty.

"I'm fixing up the garage" he said and walked out.

Emily smiled and grabbed a cup of coffee.

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Around 10, Bella woke up and had breakfast. Emily got a call from Rossi inviting everyone to lunch at a local restaurant that had just opened.

So they just hung out at the house and at 1pm they headed to lunch.

The place was really nice and the food was amazing. Bella ordered chicken parmigiana and loved it.

During lunch Emily got a call.

"Hello?" She said not recognizing the number.

"Hi, this is Martha from Rhodes Homes." The woman said.

"Oh hello" Emily said as she made a sign for the team to low their voices so she could hear the woman better.

"I'm calling about the offer you placed"

"Yes" Emily said.

"They accepted." Martha said.

"Oh really?" Emily smiled.

"What?" Bella asked excited and Emily just kept smiling.

"If you want we can meet later today so you can do all the necessary paperwork and you can get the key on Monday" Martha said.

"Yes please. That would be great" Emily said.

"Alright. Would 6:30 be a good time?"

"Yes, that would be great" Emily said. "Thank you"

"I'll see you then" the lady said and they hung up.

Emily just sat there smiling.

"What is it?" Bella asked. Emily looked at her with a big smile and Bella just knew.

"We go the house?" The girl asked excited.

"Yes. I'll sign everything tonight" Emily said.

"The red door house?" Bella asked.

"Yeah" Emily smiled.

"Oh my gosh" Bella said and hugged Emily. She was so happy.

Everyone around the table was smiling. Everyone but Reid.

Bella let go of Emily and noticed Reid's face. She kept it to herself.

 **.**

After lunch they headed back home and at 6 Emily headed out to meet Martha. Bella stayed with Derek and Penelope.

They sat to watch tv and Derek noticed Bella was tense.

"Is everything okay princess?" He asked her.

Bella looked at him and her eyes filled with tears. She really wanted to move to the new house with her mother but she knew she would miss them.

"What's wrong? You were so excited" Penelope said.

"I'm gonna miss you" Bella said and Derek pulled her to his lap.

"You'll see us all the time, baby girl" Derek said. "And you'll always have a room here. You know that. You can come visit anytime" he said.

"But it's gonna be different" Bella said with tears rolling down her cheeks. "You're not gonna be like a dad anymore" she said.

There was a moment of silence in the room. Bella had never referred to him as that.

Derek made her sit up straight and said "I promised I would always take care of you, didn't I?"

Bella nodded yes.

"And I always will. No matter where you live" he said.

Bella hugged him tight.

"I love you, princess" Derek said.

"I love you too" Bella said.

"Hey" Penelope said walking to them. Both looked at her. "You'll never get rid of us. You're cursed, child" Garcia said with a witch voice and Bella and Derek laughed.

Isabella let go of Morgan and hugged Penelope. The girl sat between them and they finished watching the movie.

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Later that night Emily got back.

"Did we get it?" Bella asked her.

"Yes we did" Emily said with a big smile. "This one will have soooo much room to run now" she said petting Lulu.

Emily placed the pizza box and announced she got them dinner to celebrate. So everyone ate pizza and had a great time.

Later on, Emily went to the bathroom for a shower and Bella sat with Penelope to watch Doctor Who. The girl remembered how Spencer was like at lunch so she got her phone and called him.

"Spencer?" Bella said.

"Hi Isabella" he said.

"Can you take me to the museum tomorrow?" She asked. "They're having an expo about Presidents there"

"Sure. I'd love to" he said.

"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow at 2pm?" she said.

"Okay" Reid said and Bella hung up.

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 **(Sunday)**

Bella woke up excited to go to the museum with Reid. She was a bit nervous about just the two of them going but she wanted to talk to him so she just had to be brave and go.

The morning went great. Bella had breakfast and then studied for a while, then she sat to watch tv with Emily and Penelope while Derek finished working in the garage. They had lunch around 12:30 and then Bella went to get ready to go out.

"Looking good little Emi" Penelope smiled as Bella walked back in the living room with a navy blue dress, black tights and ballet flats.

"Thanks" Bella said sitting next to Emily.

"Do you want braids?" Penelope asked.

"No thanks. I'll leave it down" Bella said.

She snuggled up to Emily and they just watched tv while waiting for Spencer.

 **.**

It was 2:10pm when Reid got there. Bella answered the door.

"Let's go?" Reid asked.

"Yup" Bella smiled and ran in to hug everyone goodbye.

She hugged Penelope and while she did that Emily walked to the door.

"Anything just call" Emily told Reid.

Suddenly Bella hugged her.

"Be good for Spencer" Emily told the girl.

"You can come if you want" Reid told Emily. Bella looked at him with a big smile on her face.

"Can you?" Bella asked Emily.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked Reid.

"Yes" he said.

Bella looked at Emily waiting for a yes.

"Let me get my bag" Emily said with a small smile.

"Can you drive us then?" Bella asked. Reid always used the subway or the bus to go places.

"Sure" Emily said and went to get her things.

Bella walked out to the car and Reid followed her.

They stopped next to the car and Bella hugged him. "Thanks" she said.

Reid just gave her a small smile.

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They walked around the museum for a long time.

Bella loved going to museums with Reid because he always knew so much. She loved seeing everything with Emily and him. They were having a great time but Bella could see Reid was a bit uncomfortable whenever he talked to Emily. But she was happy to see that he was trying.

They were almost done when Emily spotted the museum's coffee shop.

"Do you guys want anything?" Emily asked them.

"No" Bella said.

"Reid?" Emily asked.

"No thank you" Spencer said.

Bella grabbed his hand and pulled him to look at another piece of art while Emily went to the coffee place.

"Thanks for inviting her. I'm glad you're trying" Bella told him.

"I love her. She's my family too" Reid said and Bella hugged him.

They were interrupted by Emily.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked a bit worried as she saw they had glossy eyes.

"Yup. It's perfect" Bella said letting go of the hug and smiling at Spencer.

They finished looking around and then headed home. Emily dropped Spencer off and then stopped at chick-fil-a. They ate and headed home.

That night Bella went to bed and again Emily hugged the girl extra tighter.

"Mom, are you okay?" Bella asked.

"Yes I am" Emily said.

"You're hugging me too tight. I don't like it" the girl said serious. She didn't like when Emily did that for no reason. It scared her because it felt like a goodbye hug.

"Oh sorry, honey" Emily said letting go.

Bella cuddled her and hugged Duffy.

Emily kept hugging the girl but not too tight. The woman was freaked out by that stupid dream. She had it for so many years, she thought it was gone but she was wrong.

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 **(Monday)**

Once again Emily woke up from that terrible dream around 5am. She pulled Isabella closer and just stared at her sleeping daughter. She failed to go back to sleep.

 **.**

"Good morning Mommy" Bella said with a smile when she woke up at 8am to find Emily staring at her.

"Bonjour mon amour" Emily said wrapping the girl in a hug.

"Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?)" Bella asked.

"8:12" Emily said in English.

"Did they go to work already?" Bella asked.

"Yeah"

"Can we go to iHop for breakfast then?" Bella asked.

Emily smiled happy that the girl wanted to go out. That showed she was improving.

"Of course we can" Emily smiled and hugged Bella tighter. Bella suddenly remembered of when she woke up a couple nights before with Emily holding her for no reason.

"Mommy, why did you hold me at night the other day?" Bella asked.

Emily suddenly looked serious. She didn't really want to talk about that nightmare.

"You can tell me, mom" Bella said also serious. Their faces looking very much alike.

Emily nodded and started...

"When you were little I used to have this weird nightmare... I thought it went away for good but a few nights ago it came back" she said.

"What's the nightmare about?" Bella asked.

"I don't... I can't talk about that with you honey" Emily said not wanting to scare the child.

"But you always say that talking about it helps. You can tell me anything mom. I wanna know so I can help" Bella said now looking even more worried.

"It's about that day" Emily lied. She did have nightmares about the day Doyle had them but that wasn't the dream in question.

"Sometimes I have nightmares about that too" Bella said. "It used to be almost every night."

Emily just nodded and hugged Bella again.

"Mom, if you wake up scared I can help you. Just like you help me sometimes" Bella said.

"I'd love that" Emily said unable to hide a smile.

"I love you, mommy"

"I love you too, Bell" Emily said and kissed the top of Isabella's head. "So... Let's go to iHop?" Emily suddenly asked.

"Yeah!" Bella said excited.

Emily felt bad for lying but she didn't want to scare the child.

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They had a great time at iHop for breakfast. Once they finished eating they headed back to Derek's house.

"Mom, do you know when we'll move to the new house?" Bella asked as she sat next to Emily on the couch with a school textbook in hands.

"I'm not sure yet. But I might get the keys today" Emily said.

"Already?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. The owners moved out yesterday"

"But won't the house need repairs?" Bella asked suddenly feeling nervous. She didn't think they'd go so soon.

"The house is pretty much brand new, baby. They built it and only lived there for 4 months till the owner got a job offer in Tokyo" Emily said. She saw Bella was nervous so she said "we'll probably paint a few walls so that might take a while"

Bella gave her a little smile just knowing that Emily knew she was a little nervous about moving.

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Later that day Emily took Bella to school and 30 minutes later they walked out.

"You were so fast today" Emily said a bit worried.

"It was English" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"Well, while you were there I got a call and guess what…?" Emily said.

"What? Just tell me" Bella said.

"We can go get the key right now" Emily smiled.

Bella smiled and wrapped her arms around Emily's waste. Emily felt Bella's body shake. She knew things were moving fast.

She lifted the girl up.

"I know you're scared but we'll be happy there. I promise" she said.

"I know" Bella said.

"We'll be happy and we'll be safe." Emily said walking to the car.

She put Bella down and the girl wiped her face and got in. Emily did the same.

"Honey I thought you were so excited for this" Emily said.

"I am. I just... It's a little scary, mom. I want to be with you and I know I'll be safe with you but... I'm scared I'm gonna need them... and they are not gonna be there" Bella told Emily exactly how she was feeling.

"Honey, I promise you that you can just call them, whenever you want, and they go there or I'll take you to Derek's house, to Penelope's house. It doesn't matter. Okay? I promise you" Emily said and hugged Bella.

Bella let go of the hug and said "I'm just stupid, I know. I'm scared of these stupid things"

"You're not stupid, Bell. I know it's a big step. You got used to them and you love them. It can be scary, I know" Emily said.

Bella wiped her face.

"Look, why don't we go and get Lulu and then we can get the key and go take a look at the house again, huh? You can play in the backyard with her"

"Okay" Bella said.

"Yeah?" Emily asked with a little smile.

"Yeah. I think she'll like it" Isabella said trying to hide a smile but failing.

"I think she'll like it too" Emily said. "Oh and I was thinking of painting my room a shade darker then it's now. What do you think?" Emily asked.

"Cool" Bella said and they buckle up.

Emily started the car and suddenly Bella asked "Mom, can we paint my room too?"

"Of course" Emily smiled. "Do you have a color in mind?" She asked.

"Pink?" Bella said making a face.

"Isabella Marshall, you want a pink bedroom?" Emily asked surprised.

Bella nodded yes.

"Light pink like my bedding." Bella said.

"Alright. Light pink it will be" Emily laughed because Bella was never a really big fan of pink bedrooms. She had never ever asked for a pink bedroom. Emily was surprised she wanted it to be pink.

"Mom, I want it to be kind of like it is now... but pink. I think it would look better being pink" Bella explained.

"You can paint any color you want" Emily said smiling.

Bella smiled too and Emily drove to Derek's house. They got Lulu and went to Rhodes Homes to get the keys.

"Miss Prentiss, good morning" a man said as Emily walked in holding Lulu's leash. Bella was just one step behind still a little bit nervous to be out and about.

"Good morning. I came to see Martha" Emily said.

"You can go right in." The man said and they walked inside the lady's office.

Emily signed the final contract and Martha handed her the keys.

"Congratulations" the woman said.

"Thank you" Emily smiled and then looked at Bella. The girl was smiling too.

"So let's go?" Emily asked Bella and the child nodded.

They headed to the house and Emily was all smiles when she saw her happy bubbly 11 year-old running around in the backyard with her puppy.

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Emily let Bella play with the dog while she walked around the house and wrote down what she wanted to do.

30 minutes after they got there, Bella got tired and went inside with Lulu.

"Mom?" Bella called but got no response.

"Mom, where are you?" Bella yelled.

"Upstairs" Emily yelled and Bella ran up the stairs.

She found Emily inside a room.

"Which bedroom do you want? They look the same but the other one has a bigger closet and a bigger bathroom" Emily said.

"Can I have this one? It's smaller AND it's not close to the stairs" Bella said.

"Of course you can." Emily smiled and wrapped Bella in a hug.

"Are you happy?" Emily asked. "This is our new home"

Bella looked at Emily's eyes and smiled. Emily picked her up.

"I love you" Emily said.

"I love you too" Bella said. The hugged for a while and then Emily put her down.

"And you know what mom? You need the big closet to fit all of your clothes" Bella said and Emily laughed and hugged her again. "Oh and all of your shoes, of course" she added and they both laughed.

Suddenly Lulu ran in.

"So... What do you think of dropping Lulu at Derek's and go get the paint for your room?" Emily said petting the dog.

"Right now?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, we can paint it today. We don't really have anything else to do and it's going take a while to dry" Emily said.

"Okay then" Bella said with a little smile.

Emily grabbed Bella's hand and they walked downstairs. Emily set up the alarm and they walked outside.

They dropped Lulu off and Derek's and then stopped to buy paint. Bella ended up choosing a really pretty pale pink for three walls and a darker one for one wall. Emily loved the color. She chose grey for hers; they got everything they needed, paid and headed back to their new house.

"Mom, I have to tell you that I suck at this" Bella said getting the paint ready.

"When did you paint a wall?" Emily asked confused.

"Derek's" Bella said. "My arms get tired easily" she added.

"Well, your arms must be tough today because we have a lot of wall to paint." Emily smiled handing a brush to the girl.

They started to cover the floor and suddenly Emily's phone rang.

It was Morgan.

"Hey" Emily answered.

"We just got home. Where are you guys?" He asked.

"Oh you got back early today" Emily said.

"Yeah. Hotch had a meeting and we just had paperwork" Derek said. "But where are you?"

"At the new house" Emily said.

"You got the keys already?" He asked surprised.

"Yes and guess who wanted a pink bedroom" she smiled and Bella smiled embarrassed.

"You're painting her bedroom?" Derek asked even more surprised. He thought things might be going too fast.

"Yeah, it will take a while to dry and we didn't have any plans for today so I thought why not just do it" Emily said.

"Do you need any help?" Derek asked.

"I'd love that" Emily laughed taking a look around the big bedroom.

"Send me the address. I'll be right there." He said.

"Okay. Bye" Emily said, hung up and texted Derek the address.

"Was it Derek?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. He's coming to help" Emily said and smiled as she saw a smile appear on Bella's face.

 **.**

After 10 minutes they heard a knock on the door.

"That must be him" Emily said and headed downstairs.

She checked it before opening and saw Derek and Penelope standing there. She opened the door and Derek laughed as he saw her pants were already dirty.

"I see you do need help" he said walking in and the three of them laughed.

"Thanks for coming" Emily said.

Emily gave them a tour of the first floor and showed them the backyard.

"It's a great house" Derek said.

"The backyard is glorious" Garcia said.

Emily smiled.

"So where's the great pink suite?" Derek asked.

"Follow me" Emily said and they went upstairs.

They walked in to find Bella sitting on the floor playing with the paint brush.

"Why aren't you painting?" Emily asked.

"My arms get tired, remember?" Bella said and all the grownups laughed.

"Let me teach you how it's done" Derek said.

"Oh the king has spoken" Penelope joked. Derek picked up a brush and started painting.

The women just watched.

"Come on. I came to help, NOT do the entire thing myself" Derek joked and Bella, Emily and Penelope picked up a brush and started painting.

They started talking about the house and work and after some time Emily could see Bella was looking a bit nervous again. She looked at Derek and made a sign. She walked to Bella and touched the side of the paint brush on the child's forehead, leaving a big pink line.

"What?" Bella said surprised. "What are you doing?" The girl asked while Emily laughed.

"You need a little pink in your life" Emily said.

"Well, I can see you have a ton already." Bella said staring at her mother's pants.

Emily's jaw opened and she went for it. She put her hand inside the paint bowl and splattered on Bella.

"Mom! What are doing?" Bella said.

Derek just stared at them, laughing.

Emily went to do it again but before she could reach the bowl Bella threw paint on her shirt.

And that's when the fight started.

There was paint flying everywhere. Penelope joined them and even Derek got it on his shirt and joined the fun too. The giggles could be heard from all floors of that big house the Prentiss's would soon be calling home.

The paint fight went on till Bella stopped suddenly. She hugged Emily and just cried.

Emily stared at Morgan unsure of what to do.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked Bella.

The girl just kept crying. Everyone was in shock. The kid was laughing happy and now she was sobbing.

"Bella" Morgan said kneeing down next to them. "what happened?" he asked.

"I'm happy" Bella said.

"You're crying because you're happy?" Derek asked.

"Yeah" Bella said letting go of the hug.

She tried wiping her face but her hands were covered with paint. "How wonderful" she said and laughed.

Emily, Penelope and Derek smiled.

"I'm just happy you're all here" Bella said.

"We'll always be" Emily said and picked Bella up. The girl rested her head on Emily's shoulder and stared at the wall.

Derek stared right into Emily eyes. He held in a smile but she smiled at him so he smiled back. Both happy that Bella was happy.

Suddenly Bella forced herself down.

"This room is a mess now" Bella said looking around.

"Why don't you guys shower and I'll fix this?" Derek said.

"fine with me" Garcia said handing the brush to him.

"Sure! I hate painting walls" Bella said and ran to the bathroom.

"I have a towels in the car. Derek said there was a pool so I brought it" Garcia said.

"I'll go get it" Emily said and walked out.

Emily got the towel and gave it to Bella. Then she showered just to get the paint out. Their clothes were dirty but at least her hair and face were clean again.

They finished cleaning the room and then Bella went to play with Garcia and Emily in the backyard while Derek painted Emily's bedroom.

Once they were done they headed back to Derek's house. They found JJ waiting at the door.

"What in the world happened?" JJ asked as she saw their clothes were covered in paint.

"Mom started it" Bella said.

"Emily Prentiss how old are you?" JJ joked.

"That is my most guarded secret" Emily said.

"You are fourt-" Bella started but Emily covered her mouth.

"Go shower right at this second" Emily said and everybody laughed. "Go on, I'll get your clothes" she said and Bella ran inside to the bathroom.

"Is everything okay?" Morgan asked JJ.

"Yes, I just came to hand you this. Hotch needs you to work on these files" JJ said handing the files to Morgan.

"okay" Derek said.

"well, I have to go now. Will has a meeting tonight" JJ said.

"alright" Derek said. Everyone said goodbye and JJ left.

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Everyone went to bed feeling good that night. Bella fell asleep very quickly and Emily stared at the girl and soothed her hair till she fell asleep too.

 **.**

It was a good night of sleep up until 4:36am. Emily woke up from that same nightmare, she was sweating again. Luckily the small girl next to her stay asleep.

She tried going back to sleep but failed. After a while she was getting thirsty so she went to the kitchen for a drink.

She jumped when she walked inside the kitchen and found Penelope there.

"Oh God, you scared me" she said in a shouting whisper and Garcia laughed and said sorry.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I didn't have a very pleasant dream" Penelope said. "You?"

"Same" Emily said.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Penelope asked.

Emily took some time to think and then decided to just open up to Penelope.

"Remember that dream I talked to you and JJ about?" Emily said. "Before I left" she added and Penelope nodded. "It's back"

"I'm sorry" Penelope said just knowing how hard it must be for Emily to keep having that bad dream.

"I wake up and I'm still panicking." Emily said.

Penelope wasn't sure of what she should say so she went and hugged Emily.

"Whenever you need someone to talk... I'm here" Garcia said and Emily gave her a small smile. "And that girl on the top of the hill is not waiting for you anymore. You two are together now. You can stop climbing that mountain." Penelope said and Emily hugged her again as she felt her eyes filling with tears.

Suddenly they heard...

"What's going on?" Bella asked with tears rolling down her face. She woke up to an empty bed and just cried.

"Oh baby, come here. I just came to drink some water" Emily said letting go of Penelope and walking to Bella.

"Why are you crying then?" Bella asked. Emily picked her up.

"It's okay baby. We were just talking. Let's go to bed" Emily said. "Tell Penny goodnight"

"Goodnight" Bella said still sounding upset.

"Goodnight Penelope" Emily said with a thankful smile and carried the girl back to the bedroom.

Emily put Bella down and they laid on the bed.

"You can't just leave like that. In the middle of the night! You scared the heck out of me" Bella said as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry baby" Emily said wrapping the girl in a hug. "It's okay, I'm right here" she said soothing the girl's hair. Bella wiped her face and tried her best to go back to sleep. After a while she was out.

Emily just kept staring at the girl.

"She's not waiting. I'm on the top of the mountain now" Emily whispered to herself. Bella moved a little and Emily placed a kiss on her cheek and closed her eyes.

"I'm on the top with her" Emily said.

…


	83. Chapter 83: A Father

…

(Tuesday)

Bella woke up that morning to find Emily still sleeping holding her. She hugged her mom tightly and Emily woke up.

"Good morning" Emily smiled.

"Good morning" Bella said smiling too. Both glad to be together.

"Did you sleep okay?" Emily asked.

"Yup" Bella said. "You?"

"Yup" Emily copied the girl and Bella let out a little laugh.

Suddenly Garcia walked in.

"I heard a cute little laugh coming from here" Penelope said walking to Isabella's side of the bed. Bella smiled and sat up. Penelope wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Good morning my pretty little unicorn" she said and Bella and Emily laughed.

Bella let go of the hug and said "good morning aunt bubbly" Bella said and they smiled.

"Let's have breakfast?" Emily asked.

"Yup" Bella said.

"Alright. Come on then, yupy girl" Emily said and they went to the kitchen.

"Good morning ladies" Derek said when they walked in. Bella walked to him and gave him a hug. "Did you sleep okay, princess?" He asked.

"Yes" Bella said and sat next to Emily.

Suddenly Garcia's phone rang.

"it's Hilary." Penelope smiled. She answered and it was actually Chloe wanting to talk to Bella.

"She's right here. Wait a sec" Penelope said and handed the phone to Bella.

"Hello?" Bella said.

"It's Chlo" Chloe said.

"Oh hi" Bella said and walked out of the kitchen. "What's up?" Bella asked walking to her bedroom.

"Why didn't you go to Ballet yesterday? Miss Kim went nuts because it's almost the last rehearsal" Chloe said.

"Oh my god! I forgot. I seriously forgot" Bella said.

"Did something happen and you just didn't go?" Chloe asked.

"My mom got the keys yesterday." Bella said. "We were at the new house painting my bedroom and I forgot about it. I just forgot"

"That's cool. I can't wait to see how it's like." Chloe said.

"I'll talk to my mom later and I'll see if we can take you there sometime" Bella said.

"Okay" Chloe said smiling excited. "Well, you can't miss the next rehearsal though. Because she's doing corrections and things like that."

"I won't" Bella said.

"Alright. So I'll see you at school"

"See you" Bella said and hung up. She got off her bed and went back to the kitchen.

"So why did she call Garcia's phone instead of yours?" Emily asked.

"I don't-" Bella said.

"And what did she want?" Derek asked.

"Calm down people" Bella said and they laughed.

Bella looked at Morgan and he made a face showing he was waiting for the answer.

"Well, yesterday we forgot about dance class." Bella said.

"Oh yeah. Sorry honey but that was the last thing on my mind" Emily said.

"Mine too" Bella said.

"You can't miss anymore, right? Cause the dance is coming up" Penelope said.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"And are you still excited about that?" Emily asked and they talked about dance, then about school being almost over and then about Isabella's friends. Once they finished eating, Emily said she wanted to go to her apartment and start packing.

"We could try to pack the first floor today" Emily told Bella who looked nervous.

"I don't really want to go" Bella said.

"Why not? I need help baby. I can't do it all by myself" Emily said.

"Well, Derek can help." Bella said.

"Derek needs to work" Emily said.

"I actually don't" Derek said.

"See, perfect. You can help her then" Bella said standing up and taking her plate to the sink.

"Bella" Derek said and the girl looked at him. "We'll be there with you." He added.

"I don't want to go" Bella said serious.

"Baby I'm here now. Why don't you wanna go?" Emily said.

"Because" Bella said.

"Because of what? There's nothing wrong with the apartment, honey" Emily said.

"I'm not going" Bella said looking upset and walked away to her bedroom.

Emily stood up to follow her but Derek said "leave her. She can stay with Penelope. We don't have to force her to do this"

Emily sat back down and finished her coffee. Once she was done, she went to Isabella's bedroom to change her clothes so they could go. She walked in to find Bella reading a book sitting on the dog bed with Lulu.

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" She asked the girl.

Bella nodded yes.

"Are you scared of something there or...?" Emily asked sitting on the bed and facing Bella.

Bella shook her head no.

"What's wrong then?" Emily asked.

"Nothing" Bella said. "I just don't want to"

Emily stood up and sat down on the floor next to Bella.

"I know you well enough to know that's not true" she said as Bella looked down. "Why don't you wanna go?"

Bella took some time to think and decided to just open up to her mom.

"It's just that when it happened... I went there and as looked around... I... I remembered things with you and it just made me really sad. And then I kind of just... I just didn't feel good even thinking about going there. I still don't feel good." Bella said.

"It makes you sad and nervous?" Emily asked as she grabbed Bella's hand.

"Yeah" Bella nodded.

"You don't have to go then" Emily said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said and Emily pulled the child to her lap. Bella hugged her book.

"I'm glad you told me" Emily said.

"It's stupid I know" Bella said picking the book cover.

"It's not honey. I understand how it feels. I felt the same way sometimes" Emily said holding the girl's hand.

"When?" Bella asked resting her head on her mother's chest.

"When I was in France. I would see a child and I would think about you and the things we did and how you were doing... and there was a time that going out was really hard. So I know how it feels and... You don't have to go there ever again. Cause I don't want you to feel like that. Alright? That's why we got the new house. So we can have a fresh start and make new memories... Together huh?" Emily said and Bella smiled a little. Emily smiled when she saw.

"So you don't have to go, okay?"

"Okay" Bella said.

Emily hugged her tight.

"Mommy"

"Yes"

"Im so happy you're here" Bella said.

"Me too" Emily smiled and hugged the girl tight.

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Around 10:30am, Derek and Emily left Bella with Garcia and headed to Emily's apartment. They packed the living room and were working on Isabella's bedroom when Derek said...

"Look at this smile." He said holding up a picture of Bella with Chloe and Gavin.

Emily saw it and smiled.

"It was amazing seeing her smiling like that yesterday" Emily said.

"She was so happy" said Derek.

"Yeah. I missed that" Emily said.

"We all did" Derek said as his smile faded.

Emily looked sorry.

"It was hard" he said. "But I'm glad it's over." He smiled and put the photo inside a box.

"I don't think I can ever thank you enough for what you did" Emily said putting her hand on the top of his.

"Just make sure she'll keep smiling like this" Derek said and Emily let out a breathy laugh.

"I will" she said and walked to the other side of the room to pack some stuffed animals.

Emily looked at a picture of John and said "you'll visit her, won't you?"

"Of course I will" Derek said.

"Cause... you know… I think she kind of sees you as her dad, right?" Emily said.

"I know" Derek nodded a bit serious.

"Derek you don't... You don't have to be like that with her if you don't want to. You don't really need to have that responsibility. You're her uncle" Emily said.

"It's okay Em. I want to and… I don't think she sees me as her uncle anymore" Derek said as if he was stating the obvious.

"Did she say something?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yeah." He said and Emily looked even more surprised. "The other day she was nervous about moving and she got a little upset and she said that it was going to be different now and that I wasn't going to be like a dad anymore"

"She said that?" Emily asked. She actually loved the fact that Isabella saw him as a father figure.

"She did. It was so out of nowhere that I don't even know if she realized what she said and just kept going or..." He said.

Emily nodded.

"Emily if you don't want me to be like that with her, I understand but..." Derek said but Emily cut him off.

"I want you to. I really do. She deserves that" Emily said and Derek nodded looking a bit relieved. "I'm here and I hope that will make things easier for her but I have no illusions. I know that as much as she loves me and needs me, I know that what I did to her... That's always going to be there." She said. "She needs you, Morgan. Please just... Don't leave her too" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears.

"I'll never leave her" Derek said.

A tear rolled down Emily's cheek. Derek wasn't used to seeing Emily cry. He walked to her and just wrapped his arms around her and she just broke down. She broke down because she was ashamed of leaving her daughter again. She was scared of Isabella always being scared. She was sad because she would never have her daughter's full trust. She was sad she would never have those 4 months back.

She just cried and Derek just let her cry.

Once she calmed a bit down she let go of the hug and wiped her face as she looked down. Derek still had his arms around her. Emily looked up at him and for a moment she just stared at his eyes. For a moment she felt like the entire world had disappeared.

Suddenly her phone rang.

Derek quickly moved away and she answered the call.

"Prentiss" Emily said.

"Hey it's me JJ."

"Hi" Emily said and walked out of the room.

"I tried Morgan's but it went straight to voice mail" JJ said.

"His phone must have died. He's helping me pack for the move" Emily explained.

"Oh. Already?" JJ said.

"Yeah" Emily said. "So... Umm do you need to talk to him?"

"Well, we have a case in San Diego. You gotta tell him to meet the team in the office" JJ said.

"Okay I will" Emily said.

"Alright. I'll see you when we get back" JJ said. "Bye"

"Bye" Emily said, hung up, and went to tell Derek.

"JJ called and you need to go to BAU." Emily said. "You guys have a case"

"Are you gonna be able to finish this?" He asked.

"I'll try my best" Emily said making a face and he laughed.

"Come on. I'll drop you off" Emily said and they headed out.

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At Derek's house, Bella was playing in the backyard with Lulu when Penelope went to get her.

"You need to come to the office with me, bunny" Garcia said.

"Why?" Bella asked running to the back door.

"We have a case" Garcia said and Bella walked inside.

"Oh" the girl said.

"We gotta go" Penelope said. Bella grabbed a few things and they locked the house and left.

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Emily parked the car and saw Penelope's car so she went inside the BAU with Morgan. They got to their floor and when they walked inside, Bella was sitting on Reid's desk. When she saw Emily she got really scared. She ran to Emily and hugged her.

"You're not going, are you?" She asked looking clearly scared.

"No. No baby. I just came to drop Derek off. I wasn't even coming inside, I came because I saw Penelope's car" Emily said. "We're going home, okay?"

Bella nodded and let go of the hug.

Derek smiled.

"It's 10 past 1 and you young lady have a test today" Emily said. Bella made a disgusted face and everyone laughed.

They said goodbye to everyone and left.

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"Did you have lunch?" Emily asked.

"No. Penny was cooking pasta but we had to leave" Bella said.

"Do you want McDonald's?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella smiled.

Emily went to the drive thru and got chicken nuggets, barbecue sauce and Coke for them. She drove to the school, parked the car and they ate.

"Confident about the test today?" Emily asked Bella.

"I guess so" Bella said.

Emily smiled.

They finished eating and Bella went in. Emily waited in the car.

 **.**

About half an hour later, Isabella was out.

"How did it go?" Emily asked excited.

"Good" Bella smiled.

"Good enough for an A?" Emily asked.

"A+" Bella smiled.

"Ohhh" Emily laughed. "We should celebrate then"

"Mom, I think I got an A+. I'm not sure yet" Bella said.

"Celebratory ice cream for just feeling good about it then" Emily said and Bella laughed.

"Sure. Who am I to deny celebratory ice cream" Bella said and Emily drove.

They ate ice cream and talked about the test. Once done, Emily decided she wanted to look for a few things at Bed, Bath and Beyond, so they headed there.

They shopped for a looooong time and Bella was starting to get bored and tired.

"Mom, can we go now? I think we already have enough stuff" she said. Emily smiled as Bella made a tired face.

"Let's go" Emily said turning the cart around so they could go pay. Some of the things they bought were meant to be delivered to the house so Emily signed a few things and they headed to the car.

"I'm hungry" Bella said.

"Me too" Emily said making a face as she pushed the heavy cart.

Bella helped her load everything up and then they went to Olive Garden to eat. They had a great time but Emily had to agree the kid looked tired so once they finished she payed and left. Emily stopped by their new house and put the bags in the living room and then they headed to Derek's. There Bella showered and put on pajamas. She was exhausted. Emily showered too and met the girl in the living room to watch some tv. Bella rested her head on Emily's lap as they watched MasterChef.

As the night went on, Emily noticed Bella was getting tense.

Around 9:45 Emily could see the kid was now looking scared.

"Baby, is everything okay?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.

"Hey. I know you. What's wrong?" Emily said soothing Bella's hair.

"It's just that we're alone here" Bella said.

"Sit up" Emily said and the girl did as told.

"I'm right here with you. We're safe baby." Emily said and Bella just looked down. "You don't feel safe?" Emily asked.

Bella shook her head no and started crying.

Emily pulled the girl to her lap and held her tight. She waited till Bella calmed a bit down before talking.

"You feel better when Derek's here?" Emily asked and Bella nodded.

"Baby I understand that but you have nothing to worry about. He's gone. Doyle is gone. You're safe, I promise" Emily said.

"I just miss Derek. I don't feel that good when he's away" Bella explained.

"You need your dad at home?" Emily said to see what Bella would say.

"What?" Bella asked a bit confused.

"He talked to me about what you said" Emily said and Bella stayed serious. "About things being different now and he not being like a dad anymore" she said and Bella looked down.

"I didn't call him dad. I just said he was like one" Bella explained. She felt the need to.

"But he took you in. He loves you. I think he is your dad."

"Don't say that" Bella said.

"Don't say what?" Emily asked.

"John is my dad" Bella said.

"He's your biological dad. But that doesn't mean you can't have an adoptive one" Emily said and Bella just kept looking down.

"Baby it's okay if you see him as your dad now. You can have more than one. That's okay. And I know that John just wants you to be happy, no matter where he is" Emily explained just knowing exactly what Bella was thinking.

"Are you sure he won't be mad?" Bella asked looking right at Emily's eyes.

"I'm sure Bella" Emily said and wrapped the girl in a tight hug.

"I want him to be my dad then" Bella said. "I love him" she said and Emily smiled.

"I know he loves you too" Emily said running her hand on Bella's arm.

"Do you think he'll want that?" Bella asked.

"I think he'll love that" Emily smiled.

She kept hugging the girl and they were silent for a while.

"I miss dad" Bella said out of nowhere. "John. Dad John" she said.

Emily held in a smile.

"I know you do." Emily said. "I miss him too"

"Are you sure he won't be mad?" Bella asked.

"I'm sure baby" Emily said and held Bella tight while soothing the girl's hair. They stayed quiet watching tv and after a while Bella ended up sleeping. Emily held the girl tight till the episode she was watching ended. Then she turned the tv off and carried Isabella to bed.

Emily laid down and she was feeling relieved. That was their first night together just the two of them. She was happy that even though Bella felt scared she pushed through it and was now sleeping peacefully. She was also glad the girl had had a busy day and was really tired at night.

Emily pulled the covers up higher and kissed the girl's cheek. Bella stayed asleep.

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Wednesday morning went okay.

Emily and Bella just hung out at Derek's house together. They watched some tv, played chess, clue, and then Bella studied a little. Around 12:30, they went to Outback for lunch and while they were eating, Emily got a call from Hilary asking if she needed help packing.

"Chloe told me you will be moving to the new house soon and I thought maybe you could use some help. We can leave the girl's in my apartment" Hilary said.

"Are you sure that won't be a problem for you?" Emily asked. She wanted the help but she was embarrassed.

"Not at all." Hilary said.

"Okay. I'd love that then" Emily said and both women laughed.

"Alright then. Could you pick up Chloe and Millie for me today?"

"Of course." Emily said.

"Thanks. I'll see you soon" Hilary said.

"Okay. Bye" Emily said. Hilary said bye and they hung up.

"Who was it?" Bella asked.

"Hilary" Emily smiled. "She's going to help me with the move"

"Today?" Bella asked.

"Yeah"

"But I don't have anybody to stay with me" Bella said worried.

"You can stay at Chloe's. We'll be right upstairs" Emily said. "Is that okay?"

Bella nodded.

They finished eating and headed to the school. Bella did her test and was happy to walk out of school with Chloe and Millie.

"How was the test, girls?" Emily asked.

"Great" Chloe and Bella said in unison.

"More As coming?" Emily asked.

"Yup" Bella said with a smile.

Emily smiled back. Emily looked in the review mirror and said smiling "Chloe help Millie with the seat belt"

Chloe did as told and Emily drove to their building.

 **.**

The afternoon went great. The kids played games in the living room while Toy Story 2 played in the tv behind them. Upstairs at Emily's apartment, Hilary looked like a pro at packing.

"How many times have you moved? You're like a professional" Emily said as they worked on the kitchen.

"Too many times I'll tell ya" Hilary said and they laughed.

At 4 they took the kids to dance class, so they could rehearse the dance for their recital, and went back to Emily's apartment with Millie. They finished the kitchen, Isabella's bedroom, Emily's bedroom, the living room and the dinning room. At 6, they picked up Bella and Chloe and went to have dinner at the food court in the mall. Everyone had a great time and Emily was happy to go out with her friend and see Bella so happy with hers.

"Are you going to the party tomorrow? Gavin said it's the best day of school" Chloe said, talking about the "last day of school party" their school had every year.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"Parents can go" Hilary said just knowing that was the reason Bella didn't want to go.

"Yeah. It's from 7:30 to 1pm. It's gonna be fun and your mom can go too" Chloe said.

Bella looked at Emily.

"Sounds fun to me" Emily smiled and Bella smiled back.

"Okay. I guess I'm going then" Bella said and everybody smiled. Everybody but Millie who was too busy eating her chicken nuggets.

Once dinner was over Hilary went to her apartment and Emily went to Derek's house.

"It feels weird with just us here" Bella said as they entered.

"We are not alone" Emily said as she spotted Lulu and Sergio cuddling on the couch.

Bella dropped her dance bag and walked closer to them and said "oh come on! He doesn't even do that to me."

Emily laughed and scooped Bella up.

"Well, but I do" she said and carried Bella to the couch. They sat there and snuggled while watching a couple episodes of "Friends".

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Later at night Bella got a call from Morgan. He told her the team was working really hard but he wasn't sure when they'd be going back.

"Just be careful, okay?" She said.

"I will, baby girl" he said.

"Bye" Bella said.

"Bye" Derek said and they hung up.

"So..?" Emily said.

"They don't know when they'll be back." Bella said looking a bit down.

"I think I want some ice cream. Would you like some?" Emily said changing the subject.

"Yup" Bella said.

"The yupy girl is back" Emily smiled and went to the kitchen to get the ice cream. She put two scoops for Bella and two for her and took the bowls to the living room. They ate and then Bella went to take the bowls to the sink. She placed them there but instead of going back to the living room she went to her bedroom. She opened her school backpack and grabbed a notebook. She grabbed a pen, sat on her desk and started to write a letter.

"BELLA?" Emily called.

"I'm in my room. I'll be there in a sec" Bella yelled.

 **.**

20 minutes later, in the living room Emily was starting to get a bit worried. She stood up to go look for Bella but when she turned to leave, the girl was there.

"Mommy" Bella said walking in the living room. Emily smiled trying to take a mental picture of how adorable Isabella looked in her ballet clothes.

"I wrote a letter. Can you read it and tell me if it's good or not?" Isabella asked.

"Of course" Emily said with a smile and sat back down. "Who is it for?" Emily asked.

"Uncle Derek" Bella said shyly. She handed the letter to her mother. At the moment Emily grabbed, the girl ran away to her room. Emily smiled and opened the letter. She started reading it and couldn't help but get teary eyed. It was a beautiful letter.

Once she finished it she went to Isabella's bedroom. She opened the door to find Bella sitting at the end of the bed. She walked in and sat beside her.

"This is beautiful, honey" Emily said with her eyes full of tears. Bella looked at her and Emily could see the girl was a little embarrassed but she was trying hard to hide a smile.

"I am so proud of you. So proud" Emily said.

"Why?" Bella asked a bit confused. She thought she didn't really do anything for Emily to be proud, it was just a letter.

"You are incredible, baby. The most wonderful 11 year-old ever" Emily said and smiled, as Bella smiled shyly.

Emily stared at her daughter's red cheeks and smiled big.

"I really don't know what I did for God to bless me with you as daughter" Emily said.

"You had sex, mom. That's what you did" Bella said and Emily bursted into laughter.

"I love you silly girl" Emily said wrapping her arms around her daughter.

"I love you too" Bella smiled.

They just hugged for a while and then Emily said that Derek was going to love that letter.

"Do you really think so?" Bella asked turning to look at her.

"Yeah" Emily smiled.

"Don't tell him about it, okay?" Bella said.

"I won't. You'll give to him when you're ready" Emily said and hugged Bella again. She smelled the girl's neck, then her hair, then she moved to the neck again and then the tummy.

"You need a shower" Emily said.

"No, I don't" Bella said laughing as Emily kept smelling her and it was tickling.

"Yeah you do. Come on" Emily said lifting the girl up. Bella just kept laughing as Emily walked to the bathroom and tickled her stomach. Emily put her down and said "I'll get your pjs" and walked out. Bella took her clothes off and got in the shower.

"It's on the sink, okay honey?" Emily said as she placed the pajamas on the sink.

"Okay" Bella said. Emily walked out and went to shower in the other bathroom.

A while later both met in the bedroom.

"Do you need help with your hair?" Emily asked as she saw Bella drying it with a towel. The girl walked to her and handed her the brush. Emily combed it and then combed her own hair.

"All ready for bed?" Emily asked.

"Yup" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"Teeth too?" Emily asked.

"Oops" Bella said and ran to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and then went to bed.

They laid down and suddenly heard a noise at the front door. Bella hugged Emily tight and hid her face.

"Shuuuuuu it's okay. It's outside" Emily said trying to calm the girl down.

"It's the door" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Hello, anybody home?" Came Penelope's voice.

Both breathed out relieved. Bella ran to the door.

"Don't you ever do that again" Bella said as she hugged Penelope.

"Do what bunny?" Garcia asked confused.

"Come here super late and make noises at the door" Bella said and let go of the hug.

"Oh I'm sorry pumpkin. I didn't mean to scare you. My Key got stuck" Penelope said feeling bad and hugged Bella again.

"Did they catch the guy?" Emily asked.

"No. It was really late and everyone was tired. We'll resume tomorrow morning" Garcia said and Emily made a sorry face.

"Well, it is late so you young lady should be in bed right now" Emily said. "Say goodnight to Aunt Penelope and back to bed" she said.

"Night" Bella said and hugged Garcia again.

"Sorry I scared you" Penelope said.

"It's okay" Bella said. Emily smiled.

"Let's go." Emily said but Bella didn't move. "To bed. Come on" she said and pulled Bella by the hand.

Isabella laid down and Emily laid next to her.

"Do you want a story tonight?" Emily asked as she laid on her left side and faced Bella.

"Did you forget I'm 11 and not 1?" Bella said.

"Oh yeah? You're too old for bed time stories huh?" Emily said pushing hair away from the child's face.

"I'm not too old for songs though" Bella said and Emily laughed.

"Close your eyes" Emily said getting closer to Bella and wrapping the girl in her arms. Bella turned and hid her face on her mother's chest.

" _Baby don't you cry, I'm gonna make a pie_... " Emily started to sing the song she used to sing to Bella when the girl was little.

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 **(Thursday)**

Emily woke up with the alarm clock at 6:30. They had an hour to get ready for the last day of school party.

"Bella, wake up mon amour" Emily sang running her hand on the child's back. The girl moved a bit and then opened her eyes.

"Good morning" Emily smiled and placed a kiss on the girl's cheek. "Time to wake up, come on"

"What time is it?" Bella asked.

"6:30" Emily said sitting up on the bed.

"What? No, it's too early" Bella complained and Emily laughed.

"We have to get ready. Come on" Emily smiled and Bella stared at her.

"Did you change your mind?" Emily asked.

Bella took some time to think and then shook her head no. She was a bit scared to go but at the same time she felt like she had to try.

"So let's get ready then" Emily said and got out of bed.

They went and got ready, then sat to have breakfast with Penelope.

"I hope we are done with this case in time for Gavin's birthday. I want to go so bad" Garcia said. She was now really good friends with Gavin's mother, Colette.

"It's at 4, right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. And it's a pool party so make sure you get all her pool stuff" Penelope said and Emily smiled. Suddenly Penelope's phone rang. It was JJ, Jennifer told her that the team was already at the police station and they needed her to search for something. Penelope said she was heading to the BAU and hung up.

"Work is calling for the genius" Garcia told Emily and Bella.

"See you later munchkin" Penelope said giving Bella a hug.

"Bye" Bella said. Emily said goodbye too and Penelope left.

They finished eating, brushed their teeth and headed to the school.

 **.**

As Emily parked the car she noticed how nervous Bella was.

"Hey. It's going to be fun" Emily told the girl. Bella looked down. "There's no reason for you to be scared."

"But I am" Bella said. "I'm not sure why, I just am"

"Look at me" Emily said and Bella looked.

"I'll be right there with you the entire time. Just try to have fun, baby. And if it's too much and you need to leave just tell me and we'll leave. Okay?"

Bella took some time to think and then nodded.

"We have a deal then?" Emily asked and Bella nodded again and took a deep breath.

"Alright. Let's go" Emily said and they got out of the car. Bella walked inside the school holding her mother's hand tightly. They went to the classroom and almost all the kids were there but only a few parents went. Hilary was sitting on Chloe's seat next to Colette on Gavin's. They smiled when they saw Emily, both women were happy Bella decided to go.

Emily walked to them still holding Isabella's hand.

"Good morning" Emily said.

"Hi. I'm so happy you came!" Hilary smiled and gave Bella a hug. Suddenly Chloe and Gavin ran to them.

"Hey!" Gavin said wrapping Bella in a hug.

"We are going to vote for the games now. Wanna come?" Chloe asked. Bella looked unsure at Emily. Everyone could see she was a little nervous.

"Go ahead. I'll sit right here on your desk" Emily said taking Bella's seat. Isabella took a deep breath and followed her friends outside.

"How is she?" Colette asked once the kids left.

"Still not sure about being away" Emily said.

"From you or..?" Hilary asked a bit concern.

"Mostly me but sometimes Derek too" Emily explained.

"She's a tough kid. She'll be alright" Colette said with a smile and Emily and Hilary smiled too.

 **.**

Outside Bella followed her friends and voted for what games they wanted to play. The principal collected all the votes and then told everyone to go back to their classroom and he would announce soon. So the kids headed back.

"I'm really glad you came" Ro smiled.

Bella smiled back shyly.

They walked back inside and the kids went to their parents. Emily pulled Bella to her lap.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes. "Good" Emily smiled and placed a kiss on the girl's cheek.

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The morning went great.

The kids showed their artwork and then the choir sang. Bella had missed school so she wasn't a part of it but she liked sitting in the theater and watching it all.

The kids had a lot of fun and Emily and the other parents could say the same. Bella was the last one standing on her team at dodgeball.

"Grab the ball Bella!" Emily yelled as the girl kept running away from it afraid she would get hit and lose.

When Bella heard that she went for it. The other kid threw the ball at her, she grabbed it and threw it back superfast. The kid tried to hold the ball but it hit him too hard and it ended up falling and with that Bella's team won. The entire team ran in the court and Emily picked Bella up to celebrate.

"You did it!" Emily smiled so happy to see a big smile on her daughter's face.

"The wining team gets popsicles!" The P.E. teacher said and everybody smiled excited. They ate and played other games. Around 1, the team got back to DC and Derek decided to stop by the school.

"Derek!" Bella said excited as she ran to him.

"Are you having fun?" He asked letting go of the hug.

"Yeah" Bella smiled and ran back to her friends. Derek walked to Emily, Hilary and Colette.

"You're back" Emily smiled and handed him a Coke.

"We just got here" he said. "Garcia said you guys game so I thought I'd come see how things were"

"Things are great" Emily smiled as Bella ran around playing tag with her friends.

"How's the party planning?" Derek asked Colette.

"All he talks about is the ice cream cake" Colette said. "And his video games" she added and everyone laughed.

Suddenly Derek felt something hit his back and he got soaking wet. Everyone laughed as he turned and saw Bella had thrown a water balloon at him.

"You know you shouldn't mess with an FBI agent, don't you?" Derek said and Bella laughed. Derek took a step forward and Bella's eyes widened. She ran as Derek ran after her. He caught up quickly and scooped her up. The girl giggled as he tickled her.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry" she laughed.

"Oh no, I will have my revenge" he said letting go of her and grabbing a water balloon. He threw it on her leg and she kept running.

Derek looked over at the women and they were all laughing. He held two water balloons and stared at Emily with a grin.

"No, you wouldn't" Emily said concern but holding a laugh.

"Oh I would" he said and ran after her as she ran to the closest bucket full of balloons. She grabbed one and threw it at him. He threw one at her and then the kids attacked them.

Emily smiled the entire time as she heard Bella and her friends giggling happy while the played and got soaking wet.

They really had a great time.

Once it was over, they said goodbye and headed to Derek's house. They needed lunch and also to get ready for Gavin's party later.

"Well, that was fun" Emily said as she placed a towel in the driver's seat.

"My hair is soaking wet" Bella smiled and buckled up.

Emily laughed and started the car. Derek drove on his car. They met up again in the driveway.

"You, straight to the shower" Emily told Bella who ran inside with a smile on her face.

"I seriously thought she wouldn't last an hour in there" Emily said impressed that the girl had so much fun.

"I thought she wouldn't even go" Derek said and they walked in.

"Hi!" Penelope greeted them with a warm smile. "How was it? Haw was it?" She asked excited and suddenly saw they were wet. "What happened?" She asked.

"Water balloon fight" Emily said smiling.

"Did everything go okay with the little one?" Garcia asked.

"Impressively yes" Emily said.

They all showered and got dressed. Bella sat in the living room with Derek while Emily and Penelope cooked lunch. Around 2:40 they had lunch.

"We should get ready for the party" Emily said when she noticed it was 3 already.

"Yeah" Penelope said excited and they all went to their bedrooms to get ready.

"Bella your swim things are here" Emily said grabbing a bag from the wardrobe. Bella got it and took her bikini out. It had been forever since the last time she wore it. She had been to the pool but only with regular clothes, The last time she wore that was before Emily left.

She went to the bathroom to put it on and once done she just wanted to cry. Of course her entire back was visible with the bikini. She hated it because the clover was there for anyone who wanted to see. She tried holding the tears but she couldn't, some fell and she angrily wiped them off. She took the bikini out and put a dress on and then walked out.

"You're not gonna put that under?" Emily asked when she saw the bikini on the girl's hand.

Bella shook her head no and Emily knew something happened.

"Hey" Emily said walking to Bella. The girl threw the bikini on the bed and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked sitting next to Bella on the bed.

"I don't wanna go anymore" the girl said.

"What?" Emily asked in shock. "You had so much fun this morning"

"I don't want to go" Bella said.

Emily pulled the girl to her lap. "Come on, tell me what happened?" She said.

Bella felt tears fill her eyes.

"I can't wear that" she said looking at the bikini.

Emily didn't need to ask why, she just knew.

"Baby you barely have any scars" Emily said feeling bad.

"But I have that" Bella said crying.

Emily felt really bad so she just hugged the girl. Suddenly she had an idea.

"We can cover it up with a bandaid. That way no one will see" Emily said.

"A bandaid won't cover that, I already tried" Bella said looking at Emily.

"We can stop somewhere and buy those big ones. Those will cover it just fine" Emily said.

"Do you think so?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure they will" Emily said wiping the girl's face. "Okay? We'll get those"

"Okay" Bella said.

"Alright then, no more crying" Emily said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella said looking a bit embarrassed.

"I love you" Emily said hugging the girl tight. "Now go get ready" she said and Bella went. She put the bikini on and then the light blue dress, she got her purple havaianas on and went to the living room.

"Do you need help with your hair?" Garcia asked.

"No. I'll leave it down" Bella said.

"Here" Emily said handing Bella her bag. Garcia had packed the girl another outfit, sunscreen and a towel.

"Everybody ready?" Derek asked.

"Yup" Garcia and Bella said in unison and everyone smiled.

"Oh wait the present!" Bella said.

"It's on your desk" Derek said as the girl ran to her room. She got the wood box and checked to see if the watch was inside, then ran back.

"Let's go?" Emily asked. Everyone agreed and they headed out. They went inside Derek's car and Emily said "could you stop at Walgreens? I need to get something"

"Sure" Derek said.

They drove for a little while and then Derek parked the car in front of the store.

"It won't be long" Emily said and got out of the car. She quickly got the big bandaid, paid and went back.

So Derek drove to Gavin's house.

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"Come on in" said Colette.

Garcia, Morgan, Emily and Bella walked inside the house.

"The kids are in the pool" Colette told Bella.

Bella grabbed Emily's hand.

"Come on I'll help you with the sunscreen" Emily said.

"There's a bathroom right there" Colette pointed.

"Thank you" Emily said and went to the bathroom with Bella.

They walked in and Bella was clearly nervous.

"Hey. It's okay baby. You're gonna have lots of fun just like this morning" Emily said but Bella just stood there looking nervous.

Emily took the Band-Aid out of her bag and said "come on, take your dress off"

"What if it doesn't cover up?" Bella asked nervously.

"It will baby. Look at the size of this" Emily said as she opened the box and showed the Band-Aids to Bella.

"What if someone asks what happened?" Bella asked with tears in her eyes.

"You just say you got hurt. You don't have to explain to anybody." Emily said. "Come on" she said and started to pull the dress up. Bella took it off and turned around. Emily carefully covered the clover with the bandaid and let out a smile when she saw it worked perfectly.

"All done. It looks perfect" Emily said. Bella tried to look but she couldn't really see it well.

"Here" Emily said picking the girl up. She turned to the mirror and Bella looked at it.

"Is that good?" Emily asked.

Bella nodded and held a little smile. Emily smiled and gave her a hug and then put her down.

"Now go have fun" Emily said opening the door.

Bella walked passed the kitchen and went to the backyard. Emily walked out of the bathroom and found Derek, Penelope, Hilary and Colette staring at her with a smile.

"Whose idea was it?" Derek asked.

"Mine" Emily said a little embarrassed.

"Oh I love you genius!" Penelope said and ran and hugged Emily. Everyone laughed.

 **.**

The grownups sat at the pool deck, they talked about work and life while the kids played. After about an hour, Bella was playing at the stairs of pool when Emily noticed the bandaid had fallen off. She felt a lump on her throat as if she knew that was going to end up bad.

And just as she saw, two girls who were in the pool saw it too.

"Please don't mention it" Emily kept praying in her head but those girls walked to Bella and said "you have a tattoo?"

Bella froze.

"On your back. Is that a tattoo?" One of the girl's asked. They were both 15.

Bella put her hand on her back and didn't feel the bandaid. She looked at Chloe and tried not to panic.

"Yes" she said.

"Cool" one of the girl's said.

"How old are you?" The other one asked.

"11" Bella said.

"Wow! Your mom let you do a tattoo already? That's so cool" the girl said.

Bella let out a little smile. Emily was watching from the deck confused.

"Did it hurt?" One of the girl's asked.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Can we see it?" One of the girl's asked.

Bella froze again. Gavin knew Bella wouldn't say yes so he kind of turned her around himself.

"That's so cool! It's kind of white, it's awesome" The girl said.

"Yeah! I want a tattoo so bad" the other said. "Why did you choose a clover though?"

By that point Bella had a huge lump on the throat.

"Her mom has one" Chloe said. Bella had told her that.

"Oh cool. So you did matching tattoos. That's awesome. I wish my mom would do something like that with me" the girl said.

Bella just kept a little smile on her face. She was so nervous and so embarrassed.

"Clovers are cool. They mean good luck, you know?" The girl said.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Cool" one of the girl's said and got off the pool.

"I hope my mom will let me do one soon. I don't want to wait till I'm 18" the other one said and got off the pool and followed the other girl inside the house.

Chloe, Gavin and Ro just stared at Bella. They had not seen the clover till then.

"Does it look okay like they said?" Bella asked.

"It actually looks pretty cool" Gavin said. "And kind of badass" he added and all three girls laughed.

From the deck Emily watched with a smile on her face. She looked back a Hilary and her friends and saw they were all watching too.

"I've never met a tougher child" Colette said with a smile.

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The kids played in the pool, ate hotdogs and then played some more till it was time to sing happy birthday. No one mentioned the Band-Aid or the clover again, not even Emily.

They sang happy birthday and ate ice cream cake.

"Can I have some more?" Bella asked Emily, with her mouth full.

Everyone laughed.

"Of course you can sweetie" Colette said and went to the table with Bella to get more.

They had a really great time and the kids were exhausted when it was time to leave. Ro went home first, then Hilary took Chloe and Millie home because Millie had fallen asleep. Bella went to the pool with Gavin and his two sisters for a while and then Emily thought it was time to go home.

"Happy birthday again Gav" Bella said and gave him a hug.

"I'll see you sometime" Gavin said.

"You're going to the ballet thing, right?" Bella asked.

"Sure" he said.

"See you there then. Bye" she said and went to say goodbye to Colette.

They drove to Derek's house and Bella was almost asleep when they got there.

"Do you need a ride?" Derek asked opening the car door. He picked Bella up and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Don't sleep yet cause you need a shower" Emily said and they walked inside.

Bella took a quick shower and then got ready for bed, it was almost 9:30. She walked to the living room and found the 3 adults there.

"Come here" Emily said and Bella walked to her and sat on her lap.

"We saw what happened in the pool today" she said. "We are so proud of you" she added and Bella looked at her a bit embarrassed.

"They asked if it was a tattoo and I said yes" Bella said.

"You even let them see it." Penelope said. "That was really brave"

"They said it was cool." Bella said.

"Yeah?" Emily smiled.

"I don't really think so but… Gavin said it's badass" Bella said and they all laughed.

"It is badass" Emily said and hugged the girl tight. "You are so tough, child" she said.

"Prentisses are tough, mom" Bella said.

"Oh yeah. Can a Prentiss take this?" Emily asked and started tickling Bella who immediately started moving trying to get away from it.

"No! Stop! Not this!" The girl begged and laughed. Emily stopped and hugged her again. "I love you and I'm so proud of you" she said.

"I love you too" Bella said and sat up straight.

Bella smiled when she saw Penelope and Derek were smiling at her. Suddenly she yawned.

"Well, i think it's time for bed" Emily said making Bella stand up.

"Carry me, I'm too tired" Bella said and everyone laughed.

"Carry me? Who do you think I am?" Emily said and Bella laughed.

"Please?" Bella said and Emily smiled and picked her up.

"Say goodnight" Emily told her and she said goodnight to Morgan and Garcia.

Emily carried the girl to the bedroom and placed her down on the bed. Bella got under the covers and Emily tucked her in.

"Sleep tight." Emily said and placed a kiss on the child's forehead.

"Night mom" Bella said. Emily walked to the door, turned the night light on and the ceiling light off and went to the living room.

The three friends watched a movie and then went to bed. They were pretty tired too. It had been a long day.

Emily laid next to her daughter and felt like she could breathe a bit better that night. Things were going great.

She just hoped she would have a great and peaceful night.

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 **(Friday)**

Emily woke up that Friday morning with the alarm clock. She smiled as she noticed she didn't have any bad dreams. She looked at the little girl fast asleep next to her and instead of getting out of bed she wrapped her arms around Bella.

After a couple minutes she decided to get up. She went to the kitchen and found Derek there.

"Good morning" she said.

"I just made coffee" Morgan said.

"Can I make some pancakes for Bella?" She asked.

"You don't have to ask" Derek smiled and walked out of the kitchen.

Emily made pancakes and then went to wake the girl up. It was 7am and Bella had the last ballet rehearsal before the recital later that day.

"Bella" Emily sang running her hand on the girl's back. "Bella wake up" she said and the girl moved a little. "Time to wake up, sleeping beauty" she said and Bella opened her eyes and smiled. She loved when Emily woke her up like that.

"Hi" Emily smiled too. "Happy recital day" she said holding the plate of pancakes.

"You made me pancakes?" Bella said.

"Sure. A ballerina needs to eat well. Especially on such an important day" Emily said with a smile. "Come on. Sit up" she said and Bella sat. Emily handed her the plate and asked "do you want chocolate milk?"

"Apple juice?" Bella asked.

"Apple juice it is. I'll be right back" Emily said and went to get it.

Penelope was having breakfast in the kitchen.

"Good morning first lady Prentiss" Garcia said.

"Morning" Emily smiled. "Aren't you working today?" She asked when she noticed Penelope was wearing pajamas.

"We got the day off. Thank goodness" Garcia said.

"Oh good" Emily smiled and got the juice.

"Is Bellie awake?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah. The ballerina got breakfast in bed today" Emily said.

"Oooooh" Penelope said.

"And she requested apple juice so..." Emily said and Penelope laughed.

Prentiss went and took the juice to Bella who drank and finished her pancakes.

"Do you want more?" Emily asked.

"No thanks" Bella said.

"Alright so I need you up and running or you're gonna be late" Emily said and Bella made a tired face and laid back down. "Come on Bell" Emily laughed.

"It's too early! It's not even 8" Bella said.

"Come on! You gotta get you tights on and your leo. I need to do your hair. Come on. Up up!" Emily said pulling Bella out of bed. The girl walked to the bathroom and started getting ready.

After a while Bella walked in the living room holding a hairbrush and some hair tights. Emily and Penelope were watching tv.

"Mom, can you?" Bella asked. Emily nodded; Bella walked to her and sat on the ground in front of her. She did a bun and then told Bella to go brush her teeth so they could go.

 **.**

"I'm done" Bella said walking back in.

"Have fun, bunny" Penelope said.

"Bye" Bella said with a smile and kissed Garcia's cheek.

"Where's Derek?" Bella asked. She wanted to say bye.

"In the garage" Penelope said.

"I'll be right back" Bella said and ran to the garage. She found Derek fixing the back wall.

"I'm heading to rehearsal" Bella told him.

"Oh hi. Good morning" he said and opened his arms for a hug.

"You're all sweaty" Bella said and took a step back.

Derek laughed.

"Have fun. And you own me a hug when you get back" he said and she smiled.

"Bye Da- ... Derek" she said. A dad almost came out but she covered it with his name. She walked back in the house and her heart was beating so fast. She didn't know if he noticed. She felt like he didn't but she wasn't sure. She walked to the living room and Emily wasn't there.

"Where's my mom?" She asked Penelope.

"Waiting for you in the car, Madame" Garcia said.

Suddenly Bella realized that was the perfect moment.

"Okay. Bye" she said and ran to her bedroom. She got the letter she had written to Morgan and went to his bedroom and placed it on the bed. She had written "Derek" in big letters on the envelope and she let that facing up.

She walked to the car and took a deep breath once she sat down.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked. She could see the kid was nervous.

Bella nodded yes but it was not convincing at all.

…

.

.

.

.

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 ******Hey Guys! I'm so sorry about the cliffhanger. I wasn't completely finished with this chapter but it's been almost a month and I felt so bad for not updating the story hahaha Well, I thought it would be cool to end this chapter in this part. So yeah. i'll update again soon.**

 **Please let me know your thoughts on this!**


	84. Chapter 84: Derek Morgan

"What happened honey?" Emily asked worried.

"I left the letter on Derek's bed" Bella said.

"You put it there now?" Asked Emily.

"Yeah" Bella said looking scared.

"Do you want to go get it?" Emily asked.

"No. I just... I'm just scared about what he'll say" Bella said.

"Don't be scared of that, baby. He loves you" Emily smiled and grabbed Bella's hand.  
Bella looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"Can We go then? Or we're going to be late" Emily said.  
Isabella nodded yes so she drove to the theater.  
When they got there the kids got their costumes and were told to go backstage to the dressing room to change. The parents weren't allowed to go in and watch the rehearsal. Emily was certain that Bella would freak out so she talked to dance teacher. Of course the woman knew everything that was going on with the girl so she allowed Emily to be backstage. They went on and rehearsed their two group numbers with their costumes, later Bella rehearsed a trio with Chloe and another girl, Hayden, but they didn't wear their costumes because it was meant to be a surprise.

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At Derek's house, Penelope went to the garage and told Morgan she was going to move back to her house since Emily and Bella had a new house now.

"Garcia you don't have to leave" he told her.

"Derek this is your place. I've got mine. I love living here but I do miss my little place" she said and he smiled.  
"We'll have movie nights all the time with the little one. I'm pretty sure I'll basically still live here" she said and he laughed.

He walked to her and hugged her.  
"baby girl, you know I love you , right?" He said.

"I love you too, you sweaty sweaty lovely guy" she said and he laughed.  
They let go of the hug and she said "we both need a shower"

"Wanna go in with me?" He said.

Penelope hit his arm and said "don't play with fire my love. I'll say yes"

They both laughed and went inside the house. Penelope went to her bedroom and Derek went to his.

When he walked in he saw the envelope on his bed. He raised his eyebrows and got the envelope.  
"Derek" he read. By looking at that writing he knew it was from Bella.  
He sat on the edge of the bed and opened it. His heart started beating fast when he saw how big it was. He knew that was a very well thought letter. He was so scared but he went for it and started to read it.

" _Derek,_  
 _it's me Bella._  
 _I am not sure if I am good with letters but I wasn't brave enough to just go and tell you this._  
 _When I was alone you took me in and you took care of me and loved me from the very first day. You made sure I knew you were there with me through all of the crazy things that happened. Even before mom left, you were always there for me._  
 _I know that my father is John._  
 _My birth father is John, and it's always going to be him but at the same time I know we can have more than one and that he wants me to be happy and he wants me to be safe._  
 _You two never really met but I know he'd love you and you'd be great friends._  
 _You are my best friend now and I want you to always be. I_ _don't want to lose you too. I_ _know it will be different now that we wont't live together but I hope it will be a good different. I hope you'll go see me and you'll go out with me just like now._  
 _I want to thank you for being a great adoptive father to me. The best one I could ever wish for._  
 _I know i'll live with mom now but I want you to always be like that with me._  
 _I love you and I can't imagine my life without you._  
 _You're my second dad. You'll always be._  
 _I don't really know how to ask you this but mom said it was okay so I just want to know if even though we won't live together you want to be like a dad still._  
 _I love you and I want you to be my dad forever._  
 _It's okay if you don't want to. I know it's a lot._  
 _But I love you so much,_  
 _So much!_

 _Isabella"_

Derek finished reading and failed to keep his tears in. He felt like he just wanted to run to the girl and hug her tight.  
He never thought he'd have a daughter, especially not the way he got one. But he was more than happy.  
He loved Isabella so much and he wanted to be there for her. He was honored that she wanted him to be her dad.  
He read the letter one more time and then went to show it to Garcia. She cried soooo much.

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The rehearsal went great. Emily didn't know about the trio so she was very surprised.  
"Why didn't you tell me about the trio, honey?" Emily asked as they buckled up to head back to the house.

"It was supposed to be a surprise" Bella said.

"Well, I was surprised" Emily smiled and Bella laughed.

"It's mostly for Penelope though" the girl said.

"Really?" Emily asked a bit confused.

"We had to chose a woman in our lives to represent. I actually chose you first but it was hard" Bella said and Emily looked sorry. "And I also thought it would be hard for everybody. And also the dance is reaaaally perky... like her. So I thought it would be perfect"  
Emily smiled.  
"When you see our costumes you'll understand." Bella said with a smile and Emily laughed.

.

Emily parked the car on the driveway and Bella suddenly got nervous. Emily held her hand and said "he loves you. It's going to be okay".

Bella took a deep breath and they got out. Emily carried the two costumes inside and placed them on the dinner table. Bella put her dance bag there too and they went to the living room.  
When Bella walked in she froze when she saw Derek was sitting on the couch with her letter in hands. Her eyes immediately filled up with tears.  
Derek saw it and just went and picked her up and she just burst into tears.

"The answer is yes. Yes, yes, a million times yes" he said holding the girl in his arms.

Emily and Penelope smiled through a shed of tears.

Derek carried Bella to the couch and sat down placing the girl on his lap. Bella looked at him and he was crying too. She hugged him tight and just kept crying too.  
"I love you so much, princess" Derek said as Bella rested her head on his chest. "And I always will"

"I love you too" Bella cried.

"Look at me." He said and she looked up at him. "I'll be honored to be your dad too" he said and she held a sob.

"I love you" he said and kissed her cheek.

"You two are too much. My heart just melted right at this sec" Penelope said and they all laughed.

Bella sat up straight on Derek's lap and he kept hugging her.  
"Look but you know that if I'm your dad I can still ground you, right?" Derek said.

"I don't care" Bella smiled.

"Good, cause I will if I have to" he said with a big smile.

"You just can't take Lulu to cannel now. All the rest can be the same" Bella said.

"Okay" he laughed.

Bella looked at Emily and smiled.  
Emily had a big smile on her face, she was so happy for the girl. She knew how much that meant to Bella.

Suddenly Derek said "but wait a minute" and everyone looked at him.

"When was the last time you took her on a walk?" He said serious.

Bella's eyes widened and she said "I'm not sure"

"Well, I can still take her to the cannel now if you want me to" he said with a really serious face.

"No!" Bella said and got up. She ran to the other room and grabbed the dog's leash.  
"I'll go now" she walked back in.

Everybody laughed.

"You were joking?" Bella asked making a face.

"Of course I was. Do you really think I'd do that to you?" He said.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"Of course not! ...But... since you want to go I think we should. We all should." He said.

Bella smiled. Penelope and Emily got up and they got Lulu and walked out of the house.

"Right or left?" Derek asked with a smile.

"I want a bunch of churros and ice cream" Bella said and they laughed.

They turned and walked down to the shop. Bella held Derek's hand and smiled the entire time. She knew that wouldn't be the last time they'd be walking down that road. She wasn't so scared anymore. She was happy. She was happy to have Derek there with her and to know he would always be.  
The girl knew that no one would ever replace John, she didn't want to replace John. But she was glad she had Derek to be there for her like a dad would.  
She was glad to have someone who loved her and took care of her like a dad would.  
She was glad she could count on him.  
She was glad she could have a second father.  
And she was happy it was Derek Morgan.


	85. Chapter 85: Baby Don't You Cry

Bella, Derek, Emily and Penelope had a wonderful time at the churros place.

"I can't believe we're having ice cream _and_ churros for lunch" Bella said and they laughed.

"I do expect you to have a healthy dinner tonight" Emily said.

They finished eating and then May gave Lulu some leftover churros.

"Penny, when we get home can we watch that doctor who episode again? The one with that island thing" Bella asked.

"Oh I think I'll be kinda busy" Penelope said unsure how to tell she had to pack.

"Are you going to work?" Bella asked.

"No" Garcia said looking nervous.

"Spit it out Penelope" Emily said just knowing.

"Well, I wasn't sure how to bring this up but I'm moving out tomorrow" Garcia said and Bella looked down a bit sad.  
"Oh I'm sorry." Penelope said feeling bad. "But you're moving with your mom to the new house in two days and I have my little place just there waiting for me" she said.

"Hey" Emily said grabbing Isabella's hand. "Why are you sad?" She asked.

Isabella looked up and said "it's scary that we're all going back"

"Going back?" Derek asked a little confused.

Bella nodded and said "to how it was before... I like how we are now better"  
The girl couldn't hold the tears. The change was scaring her.

"Come here" Derek said, pulled her chair closer to him and wrapped her in his arms. "What did we talk about in the house?" He said. "It will change a bit but we'll always be here for you. Garcia is just going back to her apartment, that's it. I'll be at my house and you'll go to your new one. That doesn't change how we are with each other"

"I'm scared it will" Bella said honestly.

"I'm your dad and I promise I won't let that happen" Derek said. Isabella looked up at him and failed to hide a small smile. He hugged her again.

"Well, today is a very busy day so we should probably go" Emily said.

They paid and went back to Derek's house. Emily and Bella sat to watch Doctor Who and Emily noticed Bella seemed nervous.

"Are you nervous about the recital or about moving?" Emily asked.

Bella looked at her and said "both".

Emily threw one arm around the girl and pulled her for a hug. "Everything is going to be okay" she said. Bella looked in her mother's eyes and gave her a little smile. She wanted to really believe on that but she was scared. She felt ready about the move but with Penelope moving out too she felt scared that things would just go back to how they were before. Not that she didn't like the way they were, it was just that she really loved how things were with Garcia, Morgan and her mom. She loved hanging out with them and going on walks or going out to eat. She didn't want that to change.

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Emily and Bella finished watching the episode of Doctor Who and then went to shower. Morgan finished working on the garage and showered too. Penelope was the last one to get ready for the recital because she had packed her clothes and completely forgot to pick an outfit.

"Wear the blue one" Bella said as she and Emily helped Garcia chose a dress, while Emily finished the girl's hair.

"This?" Penelope asked holding up a dress. Bella smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Garcia ran to the bathroom to change.

"Please don't take forever! You still need to my make up" Bella said.

"I can do it" Emily said.

"Thanks mom but it needs to be Penny. She already knows what I want. We've tried it out before" Bella said.

"Alright. Penny will be" Emily smiled at how excited Bella looked.

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"Ta-dah. All done" Garcia said handing a mirror to Bella so she could see.

"Cool" Bella smiled staring at her red lips.

"Oh my god" Emily's jaw dropped.

"Wait. Red lipstick?" Derek said walking in the living room right after Emily.

"Yeah. My teacher said red lipstick for everyone" Bella said.

"She's looks so cute. Doesn't she?" Garcia smiled.

"She looks... grownup" Emily said not really liking it.

"Mom. It's just dance make up. Chill out" Bella said. She grabbed the red lipstick and ran to her room to get her bag leaving Emily and Derek unsure of what to do.

"Well, I don't want her to be a teenager anytime soon" Morgan said.

"Good luck" Penelope smiled and went after Bella.

Emily looked at Derek and couldn't help but laugh. He looked so shocked.  
"Hey. It's okay. If she's the only one with red lipstick I'll make her take it out" Emily told him.

"You better" Derek said and Emily laughed.

"Come on. Let's go" Emily said and they went to the car.

.

"Did you get everything?" Garcia asked Bella as she entered girl's bedroom.

"Yup. Mom's got the costumes and the rest is in here. I already checked" Bella said.

"Alright. Are you ready?" Penelope said excited.

Bella smiled and nodded.  
And to the car the went.

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When they arrived at the theater, the place was crowed. The first thing Emily noticed was that some girls that looked around Bella's age indeed had red lipstick on.

"So I guess the red is staying" Emily told Derek who let out a laugh.

Suddenly Chloe ran to them.

"Bella!" The girl said sounding excited. She also had red lipstick.  
They hugged and Hilary showed up.

"I saved your seats" Hilary said and they walked to their seats. Hilary and Emily sat next to Garcia, and Morgan sat next to Emily.

"We need to go now" Chloe said when she saw their dance teacher calling them out.  
Hilary wished the girls good luck and Emily wrapped Bella in a hug.

"You're gonna rock this" Emily whispered in Isabella's ear and the child smiled big.

"Good luck" Derek smiled and Bella smiled back as she let go of her mother's hug.

"Break a leg!" Penelope said and the girls ran backstage.

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They waited 20 minutes for their first dance. Bella was confident but Chloe was really nervous.

"I'm gonna throw up" Chloe said.

"No you're not. You're fine" Bella said and the song started.  
It was a Jazz routine and they danced beautifully. Bella smiled as she spotted the rest of the team watching.  
When they finished the entire crowd clapped and they felt amazing.

"I'm dead" Chloe said walking off stage super out of breath.

Bella laughed and fanned her friend's face.

"Did you see Gavin and Michael?" Chloe asked her.

"No" Bella said.

"Too busy watching your mom?" Chloe said.

"Yup" Bella laughed.

"Bella! Chloe!" Their teacher called "the trio. come on" she said and they went to get ready.

.

"Oh my god! you look so much like your mom." Bella told Chloe.

"And you are so Garcia!" Chloe said making Bella turn and look in the mirror.  
Isabella smiled big when she saw. The costume was perfect. It was super colorful and perky just like her favorite aunt. Her dance teacher did pigtails on her hair and put cute fluffy things on it. And of course Bella wore glasses for her special dance.

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"The next performance is a very special one. We always do somethings very meaningful in our recitals and this is one of them. The next dancers are Chloe, Bella and Hayden and this dance goes out to some special women in their lives. Hilary, Penelope and Cara" the host said.

"Is this our Bella? My Bella?" Garcia said as her eyes filled with tears.

Emily smiled at her reaction.

The music started. Bella, Chloe and Hayden walked on stage ready to deliver and it was absolutely amazing.  
They danced to " _I Wanna Be Like You_ " from "The Jungle Book" and Penelope cried the entire time.

Once they were done the host asked them to join him center stage.

"So do you guys want to tell us a little bit about this dance?" He asked.

Bella looked like she was trying to hide behind Hayden. She was so embarrassed.

"It was inspired by some people that we love." Chloe said.

"We told our teacher about them. How they were like and what they meant to us and she choreographed this beautiful dance so we could show them how much we love them... And we're dressed like them also" Hayden said.

"So who is it that you dedicated this to?" The host asked Chloe.

"My mom, Hilary" she said.

"Where is she?" The host asked and Chloe pointed. "Could you please stand up?" He asked and Hilary stood up and smiled shyly.

Then he moved on to Hayden and did the same thing.

"How about you?" He asked Bella.

"My aunt Penelope" Bella said shyly.

Garcia stood up with a proud smile and a wet face.

"I see she really liked it" the host said as Penelope blowed kisses to Bella who just laughed.

"Thank you very much girls. It was a wonderful performance" the man said. The girls took a bow and left the stage to get ready for their final group dance.  
In little time they were back on the stage. The second group dance was called "Stomp The Yard". Once that dance was done Chloe went to sit with the other dancers at reserved seats.  
But Bella was nowhere to be seen.

"Didn't she walk out with Chloe?" Hilary asked.

"No" Emily said worried that Bella wasn't there. She kept repeating in her head that the kid was fine, that she was probably just talking to a friend backstage but time went on and Bella didn't go to where Chloe was. They were starting to get really worried.

"I'm gonna go check" Emily said and stood up. When Chloe saw Emily was leaving her seat she stood up and signed for her to calm down and sit down. Emily was confused but did as told.

Suddenly a song started playing and Emily knew that song very well.

" _Baby don't you cry... I'm gonna make a pie, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle..."_

As the song played, Isabella danced a beautiful lyric solo.  
Emily's eyes filled with tears and she failed to keep them in. Her little girl looked like an angel flowing on that stage. She wished John was there to see their daughter. She felt so happy and so proud.

When the song ended Isabella also had tears streaming down her cheeks. She let it all out on that stage. All her frustrations, all her pain, all those feelings she had been fighting for almost 5 months, all went out on that stage.

For a moment the entire room was quiet. Isabella stared at the spotlight and she could feel her legs shaking. She wasn't sure if she had done well, she just simply danced.

Suddenly the crowd were on their feet. Bella stood and took a bow. She looked at her mother and simply ran off. She ran to her mom and when Emily saw, she got off her seat and walked to the girl. Bella threw herself in her mother's arms and Emily picked her up.

"I love you" Emily whispered in her ear as the crowd kept cheering.

They hugged for a while and then Emily put Bella down and wiped the girl's cheeks.  
"That was amazing" Emily smiled proud.

Isabella smiled embarrassed and then another performance started on stage. Emily went to her seat and Bella sat on her lap.

"You were incredible" a lady that was seating in front of Emily said.

"Thank you" Bella smiled shyly.

The woman turned around and Bella looked at Emily. "So did you like it?" She asked.

"Are you kidding me?! That was the best dance I've ever seen" Emily said. "I loved it, honey"

Bella smiled big.

"I just have one question" Emily said. "When did you learn it? Cause I didn't see you rehearsing that. Not even during class" Emily said.

"It was a dance routine i learned during class a while ago and then when you came back and I thought about the dance for Penelope and I wanted to do something like that for you too so I asked my teacher if I could change the song and do that dance... And that song worked perfectly" Bella said.

"It really did" Emily smiled.

They watched the rest of the recital together. Once it was finished they went to meet the rest of the team.

"My little ballerina" Rossi said handing a bouquet of flowers to Bella.

"Thank you" the girl smiled shyly.

"And one for her best friend" Rossi said and handed one to Chloe. The girl smiled and hugged him. "Thank you so much" she said.

The girls talked to everybody and then Gavin and Michael stopped by to say hi. Then They went to have a special dinner at a fancy restaurant that Rossi had picked out and was paying for. During dinner Bella got a little embarrassed as everyone went on and on about her solo.

"That was for sure very special" Emily smiled at the girl.

Bella hugged her and bursted into tears.  
Everyone around the table wasn't sure what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked worried.

"I'm just happy" Bella said as she tried to hide her face.  
"Happy that you saw me dance" she added.

Emily's eyes filled with tears.  
After everything they had been through, the last thing Emily imagined doing was watching her daughter dance like that, specially dedicating it to her. All those months in France she imagined little things like watching Bella swim with her friends like they used to, watching Bella sing in choir, do her homework, and simply laugh.  
She dreamed of those little moments and there she was celebrating a big one. The first recital she ever watched. The first time she saw her daughter with full on make up. The first of many times she would tell Bella how proud she was.

Together with everyone on that table Emily smiled, as she hugged her crying daughter.

Isabella looked at her and whispered "do not ever leave me again"

Emily got serious and said "never ever" and wrapped Bella in a hug again.

"I wouldn't trade this for the world... not even for 10 more seasons of Doctor Who" Isabella said smiling and everyone laughed.

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 ****** Hey Guys! I AM BACK!**

 **Ps: the song Bella danced to is the song Emily usually sings for her as a lullaby. It's called "** **Baby Don't You Cry** **" and It's from the movie "** _ **Waitress**_ **". You can listen to it on YouTube :)**


	86. Chapter 86: Together

"So I guess this is it" Emily told Penelope.  
Garcia gave her a sad smile.

"We'll see you guys soon" Penelope said and hugged Bella. "Be good for your mama and I expect you to call and text me every single day. Do you understand?"

"Yes" Bella smiled.

"Pen, we'll probably see you tomorrow. Calm down" Emily said and Penelope and Derek laughed.  
But Bella didn't.

She walked to Derek as Emily hugged Penelope.

"Enjoy the playroom" Derek said as they hugged.

Emily let go of Penelope and Bella stayed hugging Derek tight. So they just watched them.

"Let's go?" Emily asked Bella.

But the small girl didn't let go.

Derek made her do so and he saw she had tears streaming down her face.  
"Oh princess" he said and scooped her up. "It's okay" he said as she rested her head on his shoulder. He just held her for a while and her crying subsided so he put her down.  
"I'll promise I'll stop by tomorrow so we can enjoy that pool with Lulu, okay?" He told her.

Bella nodded as tears kept rolling down her cheeks.

He hugged her again. "I love you" Derek said.

"I love you too" Bella said and Derek let go of the hug.

"Let's go?" Emily asked and Bella nodded. The girl turned to look at her mom and hugged her and cried. Emily picked her up.

"She'll be okay" Emily told them. "I'll see you guys soon then"

"See ya" Garcia said.

Emily carried Bella to the car and the girl buckled up. She got in the drivers seat and before closing the door she waved goodbye.  
Morgan threw one arm over Penelope's shoulder and they waved back.  
Emily got in the car and drove away.

Derek and Penelope failed to keep their tears in as they watched her drive down the road.

"It's just a different house, it's the same us" Penelope said and Derek smiled and hugged her.

"Do you want me to drop you off?" He asked.

"I'd love that" she smiled and they headed to the car.

Derek took Penelope to her apartment and then headed back to his. He felt so weird walking inside that big house that was now very quiet. He walked to Isabella's bedroom and smiled when he saw the girl had replaced one of the pictures on her nightstand. He picked it up and his eyes filled with tears. It was a picture they had taken at the night of Isabella's last Choir show. Everyone was there. The team, Jeremy, Gavin, Chloe, Hilary and even little Millie. And right between Emily and Him was Bella with a huge smile on her face.  
He put the picture down and walked out of the room. He knew she would be okay. He knew she was strong and that with all those people around, she would be just fine.

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When they got home, Emily and Bella sat in the living room. The girl had stopped crying on their way to the house.

"I already said this but I will say it a million times. You are safe here and it's going to be okay. You are okay." Emily said throwing one arm around the girl.

Bella gave her a small smile and took a deep breath.

"So what do you say... movie and then pizza to celebrate?" Emily asked.

"Sure" Bella smiled reminding herself to allow herself to be happy and feel okay. She was a little scared but as she had heard so many times she couldn't let that stop her. She loved the new house, she loved her mom and she was happy too.

So that night Emily and Bella hung out at their new house for the first time. Everything looked beautiful just like Emily wanted.

"Mom, when will the movie room be ready?" Bella asked as Emily put the second movie of the night on the DVD player.

"I ordered a few things online so we're gonna have to wait for it to be delivered" Emily said walking back to the couch. The movie room was the only place unfinished.

They ordered pizza and finished watching the movie. Later Bella showered and went to get ready for bed while Emily finished organizing her closet.

The girl finished and went to her mother's bedroom.

"Come on, I'll tuck you in" Emily said but Bella didn't move.  
"Get on my bed" Emily smiled just knowing and Bella jumped on the bed. She got under the covers and Emily tucked her in.

"I'm gonna shower and I'll be right back" Emily said.

"Did you lock everything?" Bella asked.

"Yes and I've checked it twice when you were showering."

Bella smiled and turned to the side. Emily kissed her temple and went to the bathroom.  
A while later Emily walked back in the room and Bella was still awake which she thought was odd. The girl seemed tired and usually she ended up falling asleep while waiting for Emily.  
Emily closed the door, turned the light off and went to bed. Bella snuggled up to her and she embrace the girl.  
Bella tried to relax as Emily ran her fingers through her hair but she failed. She was starting to feel panicky again.  
Emily did that for a long time and from time to time she would check to see if the girl was sleeping. After the 10th time Emily had to ask.

"Honey, is everything okay?" Emily asked.

"My back hurts" Bella said refusing to look up.

"Oh Bella" Emily said feeling bad knowing the girl was lying. She hugged the girl tight and Bella bursted into tears.  
Emily rubbed circles on the child's back and prayed she would calm down. But Bella just kept crying.

"Sweetheart what's wrong?" Emily asked but Isabella didn't answer.  
"You don't feel safe here with me?" Emily asked.

"I don't know" Bella said.

"Sit up. Let's talk" Emily said and they sat up and rested their backs on the head of the bed.  
"You were so excited about moving and about your bedroom. You were the one that said that was ready for this" Emily said.

"I thought I was because I wanted to stay with you. But knowing that Derek is not here is scaring me a little" Bella said almost unable to finish.

Emily pulled Bella to her lap. "Laid down and try to sleep" she said holding the girl tight like she usually did. Bella got into a comfortable position and closed her eyes.  
But she failed to go to sleep.

"I want Derek" she cried. "Can you call him?" Bella asked.

"Sweetheart I am right here with you. You're okay. Mommy is right here" Emily said not wanting to bother Morgan at 1 in the morning.

"No, I want him" Bella cried. "I'm sorry" she said and hid her face on her mother's chest.

Emily was torn. She wanted to get control over the situation but the girl was clearly scared and she didn't want to push Bella too much. She was afraid Bella wouldn't want to stay with her if she pushed her too much so she said okay and went to call Derek.

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Derek was getting ready for bed when his phone rang. He saw "Emily" written on the screen and had a pretty good idea of the reason she was calling so late.

"Is she crying?" He said first thing.

"Yeah. She's asking for you and honestly I don't know what to do" Emily said and took a seat on the couch. She had left Bella in the room after saying she was going to get them some water and call Derek.

"I'll be right there" Derek said grabbing his tshirt. He hung up, put his tshirt and some shorts on and headed to Emily's house.

When he got there he rang the bell and Emily soon opened the door.  
"She's in my room" Emily said. Derek walked to the stairs and found Bella making her way down. The little girl ran to him.

"Oh princess, what happened?" He asked lifting her up.

"I'm sorry" she said.

"Shuuu it's okay" he said rocking her slightly and walking to the couch in the living room. He sat down and placed her on his lap. "You got scared?" He asked.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep. And all I could think about was that I was gonna need you and you wouldn't be here and I started to feel sick like I used to" Bella said and just cried. "I got scared. I don't wanna feel like that" the little girl cried scared that more panic attacks were coming.

"Bella, anything I can do your mom can do too. There's no reason for you to be so scared" Derek said in a attempt to calm her down. Emily sat on the other couch and just watched.

"That's not true" Bella said.

"Yes it is." Derek said. "I promise you that she will stay here and she won't let anything bad happen to you"

Emily moved to the couch they were sitting. "I promise you, Bells. I know you're scared but you're safe" she said and Bella looked at her.

"Look I'll stay here tonight. So you'll get used to the new house. It's gonna be okay. You don't need to cry. You could've just told us earlier. I'd would've come with you" he said looking at Emily for approval. Emily nodded.

"He can stay in the guest room" Emily said.

"Do you think that would help?" Derek asked Bella.

"Yeah" the girl cried.

"Alright" Derek smiled. "Let's wash you face and we can watch a movie here together" he said making her sit up straight.

"Come on" Emily said holding out a hand.  
Derek made Bella stand up and she took Emily's hand.

Without saying a word and even looking at her mom, the girl followed Emily to the bathroom and washed her face.  
Bella dried her face and looked up. Emily's face broke her heart. Her mom looked hurt. "I'm sorry" the girl cried.  
Emily simply picked her up and held the child's head on her shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay. I know it's a lot" Emily said as she rocked Bella. She took the girl to the living room and they sat down with Derek on the big couch. Bella right in the middle. Emily put Matilda on, knowing how much the girl loved that movie. They just sat there with her, Emily held her hand as Bella rested her head on Derek's arm.

Twenty six minutes into the movie the girl was asleep.

"I had a feeling this would happen" Emily admitted. "She was a little upset when we stayed in your house by ourself too."

"I thought it would happen too" Derek said. "But she'll be okay. It's a big change. But she'll be alright"

Emily let out a breath and said "I hope so"

"She will. Don't worry" Derek smiled.

Emily smiled at him.

"I'm sorry for calling so late" she said.

"Oh Em it's fine. That's what dads are for, right?" He said and she laughed.

"Thank you for everything" Emily said. It was true and heartfelt. Again that different, yet good, feeling came to her.

"I love her and I'll always be here for her" he said. "And for you too" he added.

"Thank you" Emily smiled and she felt like she was being strongly pulled to him.  
"There's leftover pizza. Do you want some?" She asked to change the subject.

"Sure" Derek said.

They got up and Derek made Bella lay down on the couch and they headed to the kitchen. Emily got him the pizza and then went to get a plate. Suddenly she tripped and the plate fell making a noise as it cracked. She went down to get it and Morgan went down in front of her.  
Emily got two pieces and Derek got 3. Derek went to get the fourth and Emily went for the same one. Their hands touched and they looked up.  
Derek stared at Emily's dark brown eyes and something was different. He got closer to her and before she could say anything they kissed.

For a moment the world seemed to have disappeared, all Emily thought was her and Derek and how it was feeling so right.

Derek stopped and stared at her waiting for her reaction. She managed a small smile. And Derek laughed which made Emily laugh too. They stood up and put the pieces of the plate on the sink. Emily looked at Morgan and he just went for it.  
This time they were French kissing.  
Both too busy to notice the small 11 year-old girl watching everything from the couch.

Isabella smiled at the thought of them together. She couldn't think of anything more perfect.  
Suddenly they stopped kissing and she quickly laid back down and pretended to be asleep.

"What are we doing?" Emily asked.

"I think the question you're looking for is why haven't we?" Derek said and Emily smiled.

He went to kiss he again but she stopped him. He looked confused.

"Derek. We work together. And... I ... i have a daughter" Emily said unsure.

"A daughter who loves me. I'm her dad already or did you forget that?" Derek said with a smile and Emily let out a laugh.

"I don't want this to ruin things for her" Emily said.

"We'll go slow. One day at time." Derek said. "And what I feel for Bella will never change. No matter what happens between us. I love that kid more than I ever thought It was possible. That will never change" he said and Emily smiled.

This time she went and kissed him.

"I love you" Derek said.

Emily's heart was pounding fast. There had been moments that she felt attracted to Morgan but never like she was feeling in that moment. If Bella wasn't in the house she knew they would have gone straight to bed, just like that. But since her daughter was home Derek grabbed her hand and they walked to the living room.

Their jaws dropped when they found Isabella laying there with a big smile on her face.

"Did you..?" Emily asked.

"Yup" Bella said sitting up. "Is there something you two need to tell me?" She asked with a grin.

"It was a kiss" Emily said.

"Actually it was more than-" Derek said and she cut him off.

"Derek!" She smiled.  
They stared at each other not knowing how to explain to the child what they were doing.

"Look" Bella started. "You guys can kiss all you want but please don't traumatize me like Chloe's parents did. So if you get married and things don't work out please please please do not screw my life up"

Derek and Emily held in their laughs. They couldn't believe that was happening.

Isabella stood up and hugged them.  
"This is the happiest day of my life" she said.

Emily looked at Derek. Things sure weren't going slow. But that didn't feel wrong.

Bella let go of the hug and her smile melted their hearts. She truly looked happy.

"We promise we won't screw up your life" Derek said.

"Good" Bella said and hugged him.

"So let's finish this movie?" Derek asked.

Emily and Bella smiled and they sat on the couch. The same way they were before. Bella right between them, holding her mother's hand and resting on Derek.

"Can I ask you guys something?" Bella said more serious now.

"Sure" Emily said.

"I know I said like I was joking but what if you two break up?" Bella said. "What if it doesn't work out and... I don't want you to hate each other like Chloe's parents"

Derek looked at Emily and he saw Emily wasn't sure of what to say so he went for it.

"Do you want us to be together?" He asked.

"Yes" Isabella said very sure of it.

"So we can only know if it will work if we try" he said.

"And if we do that and it doesn't work, we'll go back to how it used to be before we kissed." Emily said.

"I don't think that's how it works" Bella said.

"We'll make it work" Emily said.

"Emily, let's make her a promise today." Derek said and Emily looked at him. "If one day what we feel now changes we will end it before we lose the friendship."

Emily nodded.

"We'll end it before before there's no relationship anymore" he said.

"So you can try to still be friends?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Derek said. "We end if... you know... this other thing is ever gone" he told Emily and she nodded.

"You'll always have us no matter what happens. We promise you" he told Bella and she hugged him.

Emily pressed play and the movie resumed.  
10 minutes into it Bella was out again. Derek smiled when he saw.  
He threw an arm over the small girl's shoulder, in a way he could touch Emily. He touched her neck and she looked at him and smiled. Derek smiled back. Emily went back to watching the movie, happy to be there with them.

She let out a deep breath. She was a bit nervous and scared of start dating Derek but even though she felt that she also felt like it was so right. All she could think was why they had never tried it before.  
She was so happy. And it was so different from any other guy she ever been with. Even Isabella's father.  
For the first time in her life she could imagine a future with someone. A good future with those two amazing people next to her.

After everything she and Bella had been through it finally felt like their lives were getting on track. And she was excited to see what the future would bring for them.  
She knew it would be great.  
She knew she would always have her friends with her and she knew her daughter would get a break and just get to be a normal kid.  
A kid with a mom and dad that loved her, a kid with a big family and lots of friends. A kid that was loved.  
A kid who would never have to worry about being left alone.  
And she couldn't be happier.

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*The End Part 2*

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 **Hey guys**

 **the third part of the story will start in a few days :)**

 **There will likely be a lot of Morgan and Prentiss!**


	87. Chapter 87: Lovers

**Hey guys! I'm so excited to begin the third part of this story. I'm excited to write Derek and Emily together and i have great ideas on where to take this story. I hope you guys will read and enjoy =)**

 **ps: if you have any suggestions let me know in the reviews!**

 **PART 3: " _Caught In The Storm_ "**

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That Monday marked the one month anniversary of Emily living in her new house, in Washington D.C, after being away hiding from Ian Doyle.  
It had also been 1 month since the first time she kissed Derek Morgan. She never thought she'd date a colleague but their relationship was going strong and her daughter couldn't be any happier.

She woke up that Monday morning and went to wake up her daughter to get ready for school. It was Isabella's first day of 6th grade and the kid was feeling nervous.

"Mom, but what if they still look at me differently because of what happened?" The 11 year-old asked as Emily braided her hair. She was nervous because the kids knew about her mom's work and that she had left her.

"Chloe, Gavin and Rose will be there. You're gonna be fine" Emily said with a smile, talking about the girl's best friends.

Bella smiled but Emily knew she was still nervous. So Emily wrapped the small girl in her arms. She knew Bella had been through a lot. Losing her dad, getting bullied, being torture by Doyle and specially Emily leaving really took a tool on her.

"Everything is going to be okay" Emily told the girl.

They hugged for a while and then Emily let go. "Go get your backpack" she said and Bella ran to her room to get it.  
She walked downstairs all ready. Emily smiled at how cute her kid looked wearing uniforms.

"First day of school picture" Emily said.

"Ugh" Bella made a face not really wanting it.

"Come on. Your dad asked me to" Emily said and Bella gave in and posed for a picture.

They headed to the car.  
"Here. Send it to him" Emily smiled handing her phone to the girl. Bella got it and texted Derek Morgan.

It had been a little over a month since she started calling him dad but over 5 that she felt like he was hers. She absolutely loved the fact that Emily was dating him. She loved when he went over to their house, their movie nights and ice cream dates. She loved him so much and she was happy that her mom was happy too.

" _Mom said you wanted this so I made an effort to take one. :)"_

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Derek was pouring himself some coffee at the LA police station.  
" _Good morning princess. And thank you_ " he sent.

" _Will you come back today_?" Bella asked.

" _Don't know. Hard case_ " he sent.

Bella made a face when she read.

"What's with the face?" Emily asked her when she noticed.

"He probably won't come back today" Bella said.

"He'll come back soon" Emily said.

"I know" Bella said. "I'm just glad you're not on the field anymore" she breathed out.

Emily gave her girl a fake smile.  
She liked the hours she had at work now but she missed the field. She didn't really know why. She had been thinking of talking to Isabella about going back on the field. But right there she saw the girl was not really ready for that. So she dropped Bella off at school and headed to the BAU.

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"Hello Mama Bear! How was the school dropout today?" Penelope said as soon as Emily walked in the bullpen.

"She was nervous but went in just fine" Emily smiled.

"That's my girl" Garcia smiled.

Emily smiled back and asked "any good news for me?"

"Nop. We've got no changes. They're still interviewing the relatives" Penelope explained.

Emily knew that case would need some sort of breakthrough soon.  
They were pretty much stuck.

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At school, Isabella ended up having a good time. She was nervous but having her friends there really helped. Chloe, Gavin and Rose greeted her right when she got there that morning. They went to their classroom and smiled when they spotted Gavin's friend Michael waiting for them.

"I can't believe we're gonna study together" Rose said.

The boy smiled and the three kids took some seats close to him.  
Bella spotted two girls that used to bully her. She sat there just waiting for them to say something but they didn't. Gail and Yuma just walked past them and took seats on the back.  
Suddenly Mazzy, one of the other girls that used to bully Bella, walked in. She searched the room and when her eyes met Bella's she kinda froze unsure of what to do. Bella looked away and the girl took a seat in the front row.

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The morning went on great. All the classes seemed the same as the previous year because they had the same teachers. During lunch break they sat together in the cafeteria and went on and on about what they did on vacation. Suddenly Bella spotted Mazzy sitting by herself. She remembered how Mazzy was never mean to her like the other girls had been and she felt bad that the kid was all alone.

"Guys" Bella said and everyone looked at her. She pointed to Mazzy.

"I feel bad for her" Chloe said.

"Me too" Rose said.

"Can I ask if she wants to sit with us?" Bella asked.

"Fine by me" Gavin said.

Bella looked at her friends for approval and they nodded so she went to talk to Mazzy. The girl was really embarrassed but followed Isabella back to the table.

"Mazzy this is Michael. He plays soccer with Gavin" Bella explained.

"Hi" the girl said shyly.

"Come on. Sit down" Bella said and Mazzy took a sit next to Bella.  
They went back to talking about their vacation and Mazzy didn't say a word the entire time. When lunch was done they went back to their classroom.  
When the last bell rang, everyone got their bags and started to make their way out.

"Mazzy! Wait up!" Chloe said when she saw the girl walking to the door. Mazzy waited for them and they walked out together.

Isabella spotted her mother's car and smiled. "My mom's here. Bye" she said and hugged Chloe. Everyone said goodbye and Bella rushed down the steps in from of the school.  
Suddenly she spotted Derek.  
She smiled big and ran to him. They hugged and he lifted her up.  
"You're back" Bella said.

"The case took a turn earlier today" he said putting her back down and grabbing her hand.

"Are we going home?" She asked him.

"Ice cream first?" Derek asked hopeful. Bella hugged him with a big smile and they headed to the car.

"So... How was school?" He asked as they buckled up.

"It was good" Bella said.

"Your mom said you were nervous"

"Kinda" Bella admitted. "It's just that after everything that happened las year I was... nervous"

Derek smiled.

"I just don't want to get bullied again. Especially like last year" she said.

"You've got a whole gang now. I saw you walking out with your friends" Morgan said and Bella laughed.

"Michael is studying with us now and Mazzy was alone today and we felt kinda bad" she explained.

"Mazzy? Mazzy bully Mazzy?" Derek asked surprised.

"Yeah." Bella laughed. "She's actually kinda nice. At least she was today" she said and he laughed.

They went to the ice cream place and had a wonderful time. Once done they headed to the BAU. Bella smiled when she walked in the bullpen and found balloons at her mother's desk.

"What's that?" She asked Emily.

"That's from Penelope, of course" Emily laughed and wrapped Bella in a hug. "How was school?" She asked.

"Good" Bella smiled and Emily let her go check the balloons and the card.  
"Uhhh chocolate" Bella smiled and headed to Garcia's office to thank her.

"So... how was the ice cream?" Emily asked Morgan. He wrapped his arms around her.

Morgan laughed. "Next time you're going too"

"I better" Emily said and they kissed her.

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The team was done with the case but they still had some paperwork to do. So Isabella stayed in Derek's office as everyone worked.  
Around 6pm Derek walked in his office and told her she was going to Penelope's house for the night.

"Why?" Bella asked confused.

"Do you know that your mom and I have been together _together_ for a month?" He asked.

She smiled big. "Are you taking her out to dinner?" She asked.

"Yes I am" Derek smiled.

"I'd love a movie night with Pen" Bella smiled and ran out to find Garcia. The girl was pure joy. She was just so happy that they were together.

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So Bella went to spend the night at Penelope's and Derek took Emily out.

"Work clothes won't work for this" Derek said parking in front of Emily's house.

"Are serious Morgan? We're gonna change just to have dinner?" Emily said.

"Yes we are" Morgan smiled and they headed inside.

Derek showered and got dressed and then sat in the living room to wait for Emily. After a while his jaw dropped when Emily walked down wearing a red dress.  
"Wow" he mouthed and she smiled embarrassed.

"Can we go now?" She said.

"We sure can" Derek smiled and they headed out.

They had an amazing time at dinner. Derek loved how their conversations would just flow.  
He smiled looking at that woman in front of him. Emily looked stunning.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Derek asked her and she blushed.  
"It's like you don't even realize that" he said. "You are beautiful Emily" he said now serious.

"Thank you" Emily said.

The night went on and soon enough they were back at Emily's house. The house was so quiet.  
Emily walked in and set up the alarm. When she turned around she found Derek staring at her.

"So... we have this whole place to ourselves" Derek said.

Emily smiled. She simply walked to him and kissed him on the lips. They started making out. Emily took Derek's blazer off and unbuttoned his shirt.

"Bed" he said and they ran upstairs giggling like teenagers. Soon enough they were on the bed together.

Emily ripped Derek's shirt off as he got on top of her and kissed her.  
Derek's hand was slowly moving down her body. He quickly unzipped her dress. It was all happening fast. Emily felt Derek's hand on her torso. She felt so good. Derek always knew how to make her feel amazing.  
But then, his hand lightly touched the scar that was left behind by the piece of wood Ian Doyle stabbed her with. She winced involuntarily, not from pain but the memory of Doyle. It was the first time they had sex that she was only wearing underwear. All the other times she had a shirt on.

"Are you okay? Is it too much?" Derek stopped and asked.

Emily thought for a moment and then kissed him. She didn't want it to stop.

Derek moved his hand down her belly and soon was right where she wanted him to be. She felt so good. It was an electric feeling that caused her to let out a little gasp.  
Derek began to slowly explore her insides, and she let out a gentle moan as he did.  
Suddenly he pulled his pants and boxers down.

"My turn," Emily said. She flipped him on his back, and started to move her hand up and down his penis. As she stroked it, she started kissing him.

"Down" Derek said flipping her over. He made sure she was prepared and went for it. Emily moaned in pleasure. Suddenly she remembered.

"Derek. Condom" she said.

Morgan pulled out of her and opened the second drawer of her nightstand and pulled one out. He quickly put it on and got back on top of her. He held her boob and kissed her mouth. Emily opened her legs and he went back in and started to move back and forth as she moaned.

"Oh Derek" Emily said sounding like she was in intense pleasure.

Derek kept going back and forth and soon he had cum. He kissed her and she smiled.  
"Your turn" he said smiling. He started to rub her clit and Emily started feeling even more pleasure. He kissed her neck and started making his way down. The action surprised her, he had never gone down on her before.

"What are you doing?" Her tone was a mix of curiosity and surprise.

He ignored it. Then she felt his tongue lick her clit. She let out a little gasp. His tongue ran along a few more times. Then she felt his finger go in again, she let out a gentle moan. Then his mouth moved up to her clitoris and sucked hard on it. Emily let out a loud cry and locked her legs around his head. He moved his head closer and deeper into her.  
Soon she reached it and felt her entire body shake.

Derek kissed her and then laid next to her. She rested her head on his chest.

"Wow" Emily said surprised with what had just happened. It was different that time. It was the first time he had made her feel _that_ good.

"Is there anything else about you that I should know?" Emily asked him as he wrapped her in his arms.

"Let's save it for another date night" Derek smiled.

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	88. Chapter 88: Sleeping Together

The next morning, Derek and Emily woke up with the loud noise of the alarm clock.

"Good morning" Emily smiled at Morgan. He wrapped her in his alarms.

"Can't we just stay like this?" Derek asked.

"I wish" Emily smiled. "But we have bad guys to catch" she said.

"Ugh" Derek said hugging her tighter and she laughed.

"Come on we gotta go" she said and they got up. Emily walked to the closet as Derek went to the bathroom. He was showering when she entered the bathroom.  
"Wanna join?" Derek asked with a grin.

Emily laughed and said "we're gonna be late". She brushed her teeth and washed her face and headed out. Derek finished and she went in quickly. Morgan put his pants on and went to prepare breakfast.

A while later, Emily walked in the kitchen and smiled when she saw Derek standing at the stove, making something that smelled delicious, with a dish towel slung over his shoulder.

"Do you always cook shirtless?" She asked as she walked over to him.

Derek looked over his shoulder and smiled, leaning down and waiting expectantly until she leaned in and kissed him. "Only for you" he said jokingly as he turned back to what he was preparing.

"We don't have much time" she said, standing on her tip toes behind him and resting her chin on his shoulder, looping her arms around his waist.

"It's almost done" he smiled.

Emily looked at the stove and laughed "pancakes?" She asked.

"Chocolate chips pancakes" Derek said proudly.

"You know Bella is at Penelope's right?" Emily said letting go of him and standing next to him.

"We don't need to use B as an excuse to eat pancakes. Besides I know this is your favorite" he said and she smiled. He looked at her and he smiled back. "Get the plates" he said.

Emily grabbed everything and soon enough they sat down to have a quick breakfast together.  
Once Emily finished eating she checked the clock.  
"Were late now" she said a little worried. Derek quickly finished as Emily went and got her bag.

"bring mine!" Derek yelled out as he took the dishes to the sink.

Soon enough Emily made her way back with their bags and they headed to work.

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At Penelope's house Isabella had a great time. They watched a movie and had pizza and candy, then they played on the Wii and around 10:30 went to bed.  
In the morning, Garcia woke the child up with waffles waiting. The kid got ready, they ate and headed out.

.

"I'll see you later" Bella said as she hugged Penelope goodbye.

"See you, monkey" Garcia smiled and kissed Bella's cheek. The kid got out of the car and headed to the school. When she got at the top of the steps she turned and waved. Penelope waved back with a big smile and drove away.

The day at school went really well. Isabella joined her friends inside the classroom and they started talking about the choir auditions that would happen in a couple days.  
Suddenly Mazzy walked in. She looked really embarrassed and unsure if she should sit with them.

"Mazzy!" Chloe said. The girl looked up. "Come sit with us" she said. Mazzy gave her a little thankful smile and went to sit on the seat beside Gavin.

"Hi" Bella said a little shy.

"Hi" Mazzy said also shy.

Bella kinda liked Mazzy but at the same time she felt a little weird around her due to the fact the girl used to hang out with the mean girls in her class. She was scared of letting the girl in and ending up hurt.  
But that day during lunch... everything changed.

Mazzy was sitting right in front of Isabella but they were avoiding eye contact and both were feeling a little weird. The kids were talking about choir and Mazzy and Bella were quietly eating their lunch just listening to them.  
Suddenly Mazzy took a deep breath and looked at Bella.  
"I'm sorry" she said.  
Isabella looked at her and was speechless.

"I'm really sorry. I should have told Vanessa to stop."

"It's wasn't your fault" Bella said and her friends got quiet. They knew how much Vanessa hurt Bella when she talked bad about her parents and said mean things like Emily would die and leave and how Bella wasn't loved.

"I should have done something but I was scared of her." Mazzy said.

"It's okay now Mazzy. She's gone" Chloe said.

"Why are you guys being nice to me after everything we did?" she said.

"We know you're not like them" Gavin said.

Mazzy shyly smiled and then looked at Bella. She knew they had hurt Isabella the most.  
"I'm sorry Bella"

"It's okay now" Bella said. "And besides... all you ever did to me was say my shoes were awful." She added and everybody laughed including Mazzy.

"Seriously Mazzy, Vanessa is gone now and Yuna and Gail probably won't have the guts to do stuff like that by themselves." Chloe said.

"And they are outnumbered too" Michael said.

Mazzy nodded. "Thank you for letting me hang out with you guys" she said shyly.

"Anytime" Bella smiled. She understood Mazzy's reasons and now She really liked Mazzy. She felt like she fit right in with them.

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The rest of the school time went great.  
The kids chatted sometimes and Mazzy seemed way more confident and open around them.

"We should all go to the movies sometime" Bella said.

"Friday?" Gavin asked and everyone agreed.

"Let's talk to our parents and confirm tomorrow" Chloe said.

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After school was done, Bella was walking outside when Mister James Levi, the choir director stopped her.

"Bella and Chloe. May I please speak with you both" he said and the kids said bye to their friends and walked inside a classroom. He explained to them that the choir auditions were on Friday and that he needed some help and was wondering if they could help. The girls were happy to, so he explained what he would need them to do and they headed out.

"So I'll stop by your place later so we can see all these stuff" Chloe said.

"Okay. I'll text you as soon as I get home" Bella said.

"Okay"

"Do you want to sleep over?"

"Sure" Chloe smiled excited.

"Okay then I'll see you later" Bella hugged her and headed to Emily's car.

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"Hello. I missed you" Emily smiled and hugged the girl as soon as Bella sat on the passengers seat.

"I missed you too. How was the dinner?"

"Amazing" Emily smiled and Bella smiled back happy to see her mother so happy.

"How was at Garcia's?"

"Amazing as always" Bella said buckling up.

"How about school?"

"Awesome!" Bella said suddenly really excited. "Mister Levi said Chloe and I don't have to audition for choir this year and that he wants us to be his assistants!" The girl said in pure joy.

"That's amazing, honey" Emily smiled proudly.

"The auditions are on Friday so Chloe and I need to do a few things so I invited her over tonight, okay? And she'll sleep over too" Bella said super fast.

"Alright alright calm down" Emily laughed.

"I'm just so happy" Bella said. "I thought I'd never feel okay at school again but it's just so great right now. And Mazzy is hanging out with us now and she's nice. She even apologized again..."  
Bella started. She went on and on about school and Emily was really happy to see that her child was finally enjoying school.  
They went to the BAU and Bella went to tell Garcia all about the choir and Mazzy.  
Of course she still had some trouble staying at Penelope's office due to the fact that she was kidnaped while sleeping in there but she would hang out there sometimes, she just couldn't sleep there.  
She talked to Garcia and then went to read in Derek's office.  
Around 5 Emily decided to go home. Since Derek had gone out with Emily the previous day which was when he got back from the case, they decided to have a movie night that day. Bella always loved their movie nights after cases. So they headed home.

When they got there, Bella texted Chloe and headed to her room. She stopped at Emily's to get her phone charger and saw the room was a mess. She laughed and ran to her bedroom. Soon enough Chloe arrived and the girls went to Isabella's playroom/office on the third floor of the house. They made posters for the choir auditions and the musical the school was going to have that year, "Into The Woods".  
They also wrote an announcement for the school's newspaper about it and sent everything to Mister Levi. He made some corrections and soon enough they were done. The girls sent the finalized things to their teacher and headed downstairs.

"I'm gonna get some water" Bella told Chloe. "Do you want some?"

"No thanks. I'll wait for you in the movie room" Chloe said and headed there. The Prentiss's movie room had turned out even better than Emily expected and Isabella absolutely loved it.

So Bella went to the kitchen and found her mother there pouring some wine for her and Derek.

"Can dad sleep over again?" Bella asked her.

"What? What do you mean again?" Emily asked trying to hide the fact he had spent the night there alone with her.

"Come on mother, I'm not stupid" Bella said. "His blazer. Messy bedroom. I know he slept here"

Emily's jaw dropped.  
She didn't really think Bella was starting to notice and understand that kind of stuff.  
"What do you think of that?" Emily asked to see what the kid would say.

"Well, you're dating him. He's my dad. I'm fine with it" Bella said and Emily smiled. "As long as you guys stay away from my bedroom" the girl added.

Emily burst out laughing. "Don't worry child" Emily said hugging Bella, who smiled. Emily felt so weird with the situation but was glad Bella didn't really care.  
They got the glasses and went to the movie room.

"Movie and pizza?" Derek asked when they walked in.

"Yup" Bella smiled and sat on the couch with Chloe. Derek and Emily shared the other couch. Morgan ordered pizza and they put on a movie.  
They ate while watching the film and once done Derek threw one arm around Emily and she rested on his chest. Bella saw and smiled then went back to watching the movie.

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Once the movie was done they put on a tv show and just hung out. Around 10, both kids were asleep.

"I should carry them up and go" Derek said. "It's late"

"You should carry them up but don't go" Emily said and kissed him.

"Are you sure?" Derek asked.

"Yes" Emily said.

He said okay and then carried Chloe upstairs while Emily carried Isabella. They put the kids on the bed, then got ready and soon met in Emily's bedroom.

"I love staying like this" Morgan said as Emily cuddled up to him.

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The next morning, Emily and Derek woke up with the alarm clock. Derek went to make breakfast and Emily went to wake up the girls. Bella showered first and then the blonde one, Chloe, went. While Chloe showered Bella went to Emily bedroom.

"Mom?" She said and Emily turned to look at her. "Can you help?" Bella said holding up her hairbrush. Emily smiled and walked to the girl and started doing her hair.  
Suddenly there was a loud noise coming from the kitchen.  
Bella jumped. "What's that?" She asked a little scared.

"That's Derek cooking breakfast. Don't worry" Emily smiled.

"He slept here again?" Bella asked curious.

"Yes he did" Emily said.

"Your room is clean today" Bella said.

"Yes it is." Emily laughed. She secured the braid she was doing with a hair tie and told Bella to finish getting ready. The kid ran off and left her mom there kinda speechless. Emily knew her kid was growing up but she didn't know time would go by so fast.

Suddenly Derek walked in.

"We need to talk" Emily said.

"What? Did something happen?" He asked worried.

"Bella knew you spent the night yesterday" Emily said. "And she said something.." She added and shook her head to push away the thought of her daughter knowing that they were having sex.

"How did she know?" Morgan asked.

"She saw your blazer and the messy bed" Emily explained smiling.

"That doesn't mean anything" he laughed.

"Well she's not so little you know" Emily said. "Soon we're gonna have to talk about the s word" Emily said.

"What s word? S-h-i-t?" Bella asked walking in the room.

Emily and Derek's eyes widened.

"Um no" Emily said. "Sex" she spitted out.

Isabella's eyes widened. "No thank you" Bella said and walked out.

"Bella!" Emily called but the girl kept walking.

"I don't wanna know." Bella shouted and quickly walked to her bedroom.

"Thank god. I wasn't ready" Emily said and Derek laughed making her laugh too.

"See...She's still little." Derek said and hugged her.

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Bella went to her room and shook it off. She knew it was happening but she really didn't want to talk about it. She didn't even want to think about them doing that.

"What's wrong?" Chloe asked walking in.

"Nothing" Bella said shaking it off again.

"B?" Chloe demanded.

"Derek and my mom are hanging out at night. ... you know" Bella said.

"Oh no. I do not know and I do not want to know" Chloe said and grabbed her school bag. "Neither do you" she told Bella and they headed downstairs.

Breakfast went okay but the kids didn't really look into the adults' eyes. Emily and Derek knew exactly why and right there Emily knew she would have to sit down and talk to Bella about all of those things.

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Bella and Chloe went to school that morning and things went great. Mazzy was opening up more and they were becoming friends. Later in the day Mister Levi called Bella and Chloe out of Science class. He talked to them about the auditions and they agreed on handing out flyers during lunch. So when the lunch bell rang the girls went out to do that. For their luck their other friends, Gavin, Rose, Michael and Mazzy, went with them to help. They finished and went to eat quickly. Once done, the bell rang and back to the classroom they went. Soon enough they were walking out of the school. Bella spotted Emily's car and smiled. She said goodbye to her friends and ran to the car.

"How was school?" Emily asked as the girl threw her bag in the backseat.

"Great" Bella smiled.

"Do you have a case today?" Bella asked when she saw Emily didn't hug her like she usually did. Her mom just started the car and drove.

"No, just finishing lots of paperwork" Emily said.

Soon she parked at the BAU. Bella just hung out at Derek's office till 5 when they headed home. The girl showered and put on black leggings and a Doctor Who tshirt, and headed downstairs to the living room. When she got there she found Morgan and Prentiss sitting on the couch waiting for her.

"Is everything okay?" The girl asked taking a spot on the other couch and turned to face them.

"Yes, but we need to have a little talk with you." Emily said. Earlier that day she talked to Morgan about what they should do. She wasn't sure she was ready to have that conversation with Isabella but at the same time she thought it was very important that she did soon. She had noticed Bella joking around about that subject but she wasn't sure about how much the girl actually knew. So Derek agreed they should talk to her and explain everything, as much as it was embarrassing they knew they'd have to sit and talk sooner or later. So they decided to talk to her once they got home.

"We think it's important that we sit down and explain some things to you" Emily said. Emily knew Isabella knew that you needed to have sex in order to get pregnant but she wasn't sure about what else in that subject the child knew.

"And if you have any questions you can just ask" Derek said.

Bella just sat there. She felt like she knew what was coming and she just wanted to disappear.

"So... what we want to talk about.." Emily tried to begin but staring at Bella she just couldn't find the right words to say.

"We need to talk to you about sex" Derek spitted out.

Bella shook her head no.

"Sweetheart, it's important that you learn from us what is it than later hearing kids talking about it at school" Emily said.

Bella felt so uncomfortable. She wanted to hide. She couldn't believe she had to listen to all of that again.  
She stood up and tried going away but Emily grabbed her arm.

"Hey. It's important, honey" Emily said. "I know it can be a scary thing" she added and Bella looked down.

"You don't need to explain that to me. I already know." The girl said not even looking up. She was so embarrassed.

"You already know? What do you mean by that?" Derek asked.

"My dad told me about it when I was 9. And then some other stuff when I was 10" Bella said serious.

Emily looked confused. John, Isabella's biological father, never mentioned he had "the talk" with her.

"So do you mind telling me what exactly he said?" Emily said. Bella shook her head. Emily pulled the girl and made Bella sit next to her.  
"I know it's uncomfortable Bella. It's a little hard for me too but it's very important that you understand" Emily said.

"He said it's what you do to have babies and then he said you do other times too" Bella said.

"But do you know exactly what it is or was that all he said?" Derek asked.

"He gave me this book and umm... you know the p-... Ummn..." Bella tried to explain but she couldn't really talk.

Emily took a deep breath and started. She was very nervous but she knew it was important to talk to the girl about those subjects.  
"When a man and a woman decide they want to do this, the man's penis goes inside the woman's vagina, and for them to have a baby the sperm comes out of the man's penis."

Bella looked down. Her cheeks were already red. She for sure hated talking about that.

"Sometimes the sperm joins with one of the tiny eggs inside the woman's body, and that makes the egg begin growing into a baby. This happens in a place women have called uterus" Emily said and Bella looked up. The kid looked horrified but Emily kept going.

"So... when a couple is ready they might decide to do that. It's very important to know that the man needs to use a condom, which is-" Emily said but Bella cut her off.

"Mom, dad was a doctor for god's sake. He showed me pictures and all that stuff" Bella said and Emily's eyes widened.

"So you know... umm..." Emily said unsure how to ask what _exactly_ the girl knew already.

"Please mom, I don't want to talk about this again. It's disgusting. I don't want to even think about it. Please. I'm just 11, I don't need to know anything now, please" Bella said desperately.

Emily smiled and wrapped the girl in her arms. She could see Bella was still just a little kid.

"Okay. We don't have to talk about it right now. But if you have any questions just know you can come to me for that okay? You can come to us" Emily said making Bella sit up straight and look at her.

The kid nodded.

"We don't want you looking things up on the computer that might be wrong. Or even asking someone else. We want you to talk to us even if its embarrassing" Derek said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Did he talk to you about other things too? Like puberty and periods?" Emily asked. She felt like she just had to know.

Bella nodded and hid her face on Emily, embarrassed. Emily hugged her again.

"Alright" Emily smiled. She felt glad John had explained everything to Bella and she knew he had done just right.

Derek wrapped both of them in his arms. The hug took longer than usual.  
They let go and Derek asked if they wanted to go to the mall.

"Yes. I'm gonna get my shoes" Bella said and ran away to her bedroom, thankful that stupid talk was done.

Derek laughed at how quickly the girl walked away from them.  
"I think John might have traumatized her" he said.

"Im happy he did" Emily let out a little laugh. "But He didn't tell me he had talked to her about this" Emily said.

"I can see why" Derek said and let out a laugh. Emily was really pale and her eyes were still widen than normal.  
"You can't bare to think she's growing up." He said.

"Is it that obvious?" Emily asked.

"Just go look in the mirror." He laughed.

"Stop" Emily smiled.

"She's 11, Em. She'll be a teenager soon. As much as that scares me I know it will happen eventually. And you gotta get used to that idea" he said and she nodded.

Derek threw an arm over her shoulder and she rested on him.  
"I wish she could just stay little forever"

"Me too" he smiled.

Suddenly Bella walked back wearing her red rain boots.  
"Let's go?" She said desperately wanting to get out of the house.

Emily saw the boots and instantly pulled the girl to her lap, glad her little girl was still just a little girl.  
"Promise me you'll never grown up"

"Mom, I don't think it works like that" Bella said. Derek and Emily laughed.

"Then promise me you'll never stop wearing rain boots on sunny days" she said knowing it was a silly thing that Bella did since she was 3 years old.

"I promise" Bella said.

Emily held her tight and kissed her cheek.  
"I love you, Bells"

"I love you too" Bella said and got up. "Now let's go please"

They stood up and followed the girl to the car. The car ride to the mall was very quiet. Everyone felt a bit weird about the conversation they had at home. But once they got to the mall things started to get better. Bella started talking a bit more as they walked around.

"Do you want to go get one of those weird little stuffies you love?" Derek asked when he spotted the Disney store.

Bella nodded and they headed there. She picked out a Nemo tsum tsum, Derek paid and they headed to the food court. They ate dinner and talked to the girl about how school was going. Bella was back to her old self already, she was acting like they never even mentioned sex.  
Once they were done Derek drove to his house and then kissed Emily and hugged Bella goodbye. Emily drove home and Bella got quiet again.

"Everything okay back there?" Emily asked her after 6 minutes of complete silence.

"Yeah" Bella said kinda low.

Emily thought the kid was probably still thinking about their little talk. And when they got home she saw she was just right.  
They walked inside and Bella headed straight to the couch. Emily put her bag on the counter and went to sit with the girl.

"Everything okay?" Emily asked as she sat down on the couch. Bella got up and sat next to her mom. "Was it too much?" Emily asked feeling a bit bad, throwing one arm around the girl as Bella got comfortable.

"With dad John was worse" Bella said.

"Really?"

Bella looked up at her and said "mom, i don't ever wanna do that thing"

"I'm glad to hear that baby but when you're older and with someone you love you won't find it so weird anymore" Emily said.

"It's disgusting, mom" Bella said making a face and Emily let out a little laugh and hugged the child tighter.

"I'm really happy you think that" she said.

There was a bit of silence till Bella said "do you do that with him every time he sleeps here?"

Emily said "no, honey"

"You do that just on your bed,right?"

"Yes" Emily said serious.

"Do you always change the sheets?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily laughed.

"And you use that thing so you won't get pregnant, right?" Bella asked.

"Yes. We use a condom every time and i take the pill too" Emily said.

Bella just nodded.

"Did your dad talk to you about the pill too?" Emily asked.

"Yeah." Bella said. She took some time to think and then said "Mom, is going to the lady Doctor bad?" The girl asked.

"No. it's just a little uncomfortable but it's okay" Emily said. "Maybe you can go to an appointment with me-"

"Nop" Bella quickly cut her off.

"Not to do anything, honey. Just to talk. My Doctor is really nice and she can explain everything to you" Emily said.

"Maybe someday but not right now. I'm still little" Bella said and Emily smiled.

Another moment of complete silence.

"Mom" Bella said not looking up after a while.

"Yes" Emily said glad the girl was feeling a bit more comfortable now.

"Dad said... dad John, he said that periods can come after you turn 11 but most times at 13. But umm... Does that mean anytime now?" Bella asked.

"Usually a girl gets her period when she's a little developed already" Emily tried to explain. "I got mine when I was 13"

"Does that means I'll get mine at 13 too?" Bella asked hopeful.

"Maybe." Emily said. "Look honey... you're smaller than all of your friends so they'll probably have theirs first"

"I'm scared of it I think" Bella said honestly.

"That will happen eventually to every girl but no matter what I'll be here. Okay? If you need to talk, know I'm here" Emily said and Bella looked up. "And you don't need to be scared. It's not so bad" Emily said with a small smile as she tucked a lock of hair behind the girl's ear. Bella hid her face on Emily's chest.

"And no matter what happens you'll always be my little girl. Always remember that" Emily said hugging Bella tight.

"Hold?" Bella said holding a smile. Emily saw and smiled.

"Come here" she said and pulled Bella to her lap. The girl got comfortable as Emily ran her hand on Bella's arm.

"I love you mom" Bella said.

"I love you too, Bells. And I'm really glad we had this talk today" Emily smiled.

"I can't say me too... but it wasn't soooo bad" Bella said and Emily laughed.

"Did your dad really show you a bunch of stuff?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said making a face and shaking her head to wipe those images away.

Emily laughed. Bella cuddled up to her mom.  
After a little while Emily turned the tv on. They watched it till around 10pm when Emily noticed Isabella had fallen asleep. She carried the girl upstairs and covered her up. Lulu, the dog, jumped on the bed and made herself comfortable. Emily smiled and headed to bed.  
She texted Morgan about what she talked to Bella and he was happy the kid asked her some questions and seemed more comfortable talking with just Emily.

" _See you tomorrow at work_ " Emily sent.

" _See you_." He sent.

Emily locked her phone and suddenly the screen turned back on.

 _"I love you babe"_ Derek's text said.

Emily smiled and sent _"I love you too_."

Then she put the phone on the nightstand and laid down to sleep.

…


	89. Chapter 89: HELP ME

Hey guys! ITS BONNIE HERE!

This Story has been nominated for Best Overall Fic at The Profiler's Choice Awards 2016 !

And you can help me win!

Go to the Profiler's Choice Awards 2016 FORUM and send a PM to VOTE!

 **Best Overall Fic:** In Her Eyes by Bonniegrey

forum/Profiler-s-Choice-Awards-2016/197180/


	90. Chapter 90: Moving In

The next morning, Bella woke up and stayed in bed till Emily walked in to get her.

"You're awake already?" Emily asked with a smile.

"I woke up a little while ago" Bella said opening her arms out asking for a hug. Emily happily walked to the bed and hugged the girl. Then she pulled Bella out of the bed.

"Go get ready" she said and Bella went.

After a while they met again in the kitchen and had cereal for breakfast. The car ride to the school was quick and soon they were saying goodbye. Emily headed to work and Bella walked with her friends to her classroom.

.

At the BAU, Emily walked out of the elevator to find Penelope waiting for her.  
"Hi" Emily smiled as the woman approached.

"Oh my god. I heard about the conversation you had with her yesterday. How is she? Did you traumatize my little princess?" Penelope said fast.

Emily laughed and said "calm down Penelope. She's fine"

Penelope breathed out relieved.

"John had already talked to her" Emily said.

"Oh" Garcia said.

"She's still the same Bella you've always known" Emily smiled and they walked to the conference room. In there JJ told them they had a case right there in DC and it was a bad one.

"7 women have gone missing in the last 3 weeks and yesterday Washington P.D. found the body of 4 of them" JJ said as pictures appeared on the screen.  
"Same ligature marks, same cause of death" she explained.

"Oh Lord" Penelope said when she saw that every single one of those women had their abdomen opened in a T line.

"They bleed to death" JJ said. "We've been called in and it's an emergency."

"I want Emily and JJ to go to the Washington PD with me." Hotch said. "Derek, Rossi and Spencer go to the disposal site and meet us at the station in an hour. Penelope stay put" Hotch said and everyone stood up to do as told.

"You want Emily on the field?" Derek asked Hotch.

"We're in the city" Hotch told Morgan, then he turned to Emily and asked "Is that okay?"

"Sure" Emily said. Hotch gave Derek a look and walked out.

"Em" Derek said walking to her.

"What? It's fine" she said but he looked concern. "Derek, I'm helping you train new agents since I got back from France. And you know I go to the shooting range." She said.

"You promised her" Morgan said concern about Isabella's reaction to her mother back on the field.

"She'll be okay. And I'm in the city, it's not like I'm going somewhere that's 7 hours away." Emily said.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked.

"Yes" Emily said. "Now let's go" she said and they walked out to meet the rest of the team.

Emily had been wanting to go back on the field for a while now. She didn't want to leave Bella scared at home but she missed it so much. She hated just working at the office. So she saw an opportunity to be out there and took it.

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JJ, Hotch and Emily settled at the Washington PD and started going through everything they had. About an hour later Derek called, they had found another body.

"I want you and JJ to talk to the victims' families." Hotch told Emily and she headed out with JJ.

It was a long day. Emily and JJ visited 5 houses and talked to all those families about the deaths of those women. It was so hard to do it but Emily felt like she was doing so much more than she ever did back in the office. She really wanted to go back on the field. She couldn't deny that anymore.

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That day, around 3:36pm, Isabella walked out of school to find Hilary waiting for her.

"Your mom called and she's super busy so I'm driving you to the BAU, Okay?" Hilary said with a sweet smile.

"Sure" Bella said smiling back. She loved her friend's mom and she was used to that happening sometimes so she thought it was just another day that Emily was packed up with paperwork.  
But when she walked out of the elevator on the 6th floor of the BAU she saw it wasn't.  
Penelope was waiting for her and she found that odd.

"Is everything okay?" Bella asked walking to the woman.

"Yes" Penelope said, giving Bella a hug, but Bella could tell something was wrong. The girl looked at the bullpen and saw it was empty.

"Where's my mom?" She asked.

"She had to go to the police station. She'll be back" Garcia said.

Just by looking at the woman's face Bella could tell there was more to that story.

"To do what?" She demanded.

Penelope wasn't sure of how to tell the girl.  
"Why don't we take a sit? I've been up all morning" Garcia lied.

She guided Bella to Hotch's office and they sat on the couch.

"Can you please tell me what's going on!" Bella said serious.

"It's nothing serious bunny. Your mama went there because there's a case right here in the city and Hotch needed everyone" Garcia explained.

"She went on a case?" Bella said as she felt her heart race.

"It's right here in the city. It's okay. She'll be back soon" Penelope said.

"You mean she went on the field? Like doing field work like before?" Bella said. The kid clearly looked scared.

"I think so" Penelope said not wanting to lie to her.

"No" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears. "She said she wouldn't."

"It's okay. She'll be back soon" Garcia said trying to calm the kid.

"No it's not. What if she gets hurt?!" Bella said starting to panic.

"She won't. The team is with her...Derek's with her"

"But she hasn't been in so long. What if she doesn't know what to do?" Bella cried and Penelope just went and hugged her.

"She knows what to do. She never stopped training. She goes to the shooting range every week. She's tough" Garcia said and pulled Bella to her lap. "And your dad is with her. She'll be okay"

"He can't be with her at all times. What if something happens and ..." Bella started but couldn't even finish. Just the thought of losing her mom again was too much.

"Nothing bad is gonna happen. Aunt Penny promises you" Garcia said as she slightly rocked the crying child.

"I can't lose her" Bella said holding a sob.

"You are not going to" Penelope said serious. "She's amazing at what she does, she knows you're waiting for her at home baby, she'll be careful. Don't worry."

Garcia held Bella for a while till she stopped crying. "Why don't we go get a snack and then you can do your homework so you'll be all done when your mama gets back?" She said and Bella agreed.

"Can I stay in Derek's office?" Bella asked.

"Of course you can pumpkin!" Penelope said with a smile. "Go get settled and I'll get us something to eat."

Bella headed to Derek's office and sat on his desk. She pulled her homework out and soon enough Penelope walked in with a bag of chips and a sprite.

"Here" she said handing it to Bella. "Derek called and they are all okay but I have to work in my office. So relax and anything just go get me"

"Okay" Bella said.

Garcia gave the kid a sad but sweet smile. She understood why Bella was scared, any kid would be after what happened but she also knew Emily was one of the best agents the BAU had, she knew Emily could take care of herself and she trusted her to make good choices thinking about the fact that she had a child at home. At least she had to trust her.

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Isabella finished all her homework and then watched two movies on her iPad and just hung out till the team got back at 9:30pm. They were exhausted but happy with how the case ended. They were able to save 2 women and arrest the man responsible for the murders. Emily went with Morgan and Rossi to make the arrest and it went great. Everyone was glad the case was over.  
The team walked out of the elevator and Garcia was waiting for them.

"Isabella is in your office" Penelope told Derek.

"How did she take?" Emily asked.

"She cried a little but I think she's okay now"

Emily took a deep breath and went to Morgan's office. When she opened the door Isabella looked up and simply ran to her and bursted into tears.

"You said you would stay here" Bella cried.

"They needed me" Emily said.

Isabella let go of her and said "I need you more. If something happens to you mom I can't... " the kid cried.

Emily scooped her up. "Nothing is gonna happen to me" she said rubbing circles on the child's back.  
Morgan was right behind her and heard everything.

"I think we should go home and talk" he said and Emily nodded. "I'll get her things" he said. So Emily took Bella to her car and Derek followed her with their bags and the girl's school backpack.

The drive to the house was quiet and Emily was glad Morgan was driving so she could take the time to think of what she'd tell Bella. When they got home both grownups could see the girl was upset. They walked in and Emily guided Bella to the couch.  
The conversation went exactly how Emily thought it would. Isabella cried the entire time and begged her not to go on the field again. Of course Emily agreed. She couldn't hurt her daughter more than she already had after leaving for France. She knew Isabella needed her. So she agreed on not going on the field even though she really wanted to.  
When they finished talking about all of that it was almost 11PM. Derek asked if Bella had dinner and since she said no He went to the kitchen to cook something for them while mother and daughter cuddled on the couch in the living room. After he left Bella didn't say another word and Emily honestly also didn't feel like talking.  
Once dinner was done they sat in the kitchen to eat. Morgan made breakfast for dinner so they had scrambled eggs, toasts with cheese and tomatoes, and bacon. They ate and then Bella went to get ready for bed.

"I can see you want to go on the field, don't you?" Derek said.

Emily looked at him and couldn't lie. "I do" she said. "But I can't. Not with her like this"

Derek could see she was upset. He wrapped her in his arms.  
"As much as I don't want you to, I know it's just the way we are. I can't imagine myself doing any other work. Let's take it slow with her. We need to mention it sometimes. Maybe she got so scared because it was sudden." Derek said.

"Yeah" Emily agreed.

"Maybe we can let her know more about what we do when we're out. Who knows what she thinks that happens?" Derek said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Emily asked. She never wanted Bella too aware of what happened in their cases.

"Maybe it will help. I think she's seen it too much of that world and she doesn't understand it well. She needs to learn from us, you know" Derek said.

"Yeah" Emily said and let out a deep breath. "You'll be here for that, right?" Emily asked.

"Of course I will" Derek said.

"No... I mean here _here_ " Emily said resting her head on his shoulder.

"Here? In the house?" Derek asked.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" Derek asked surprised.

"You kind of already live here" Emily smiled and looked at him.

Derek turned to face her and smiled.

"So.. what do you say?" Emily asked.

"I'm in" Derek smiled and they kissed.

Suddenly Bella walked back downstairs. She saw them kissing and smiled.  
Derek and Emily stopped and Derek felt someone was watching so he turned and saw Bella walking in the room.

"All ready for bed?" He asked with a smile.

Bella nodded and walked to him.  
"Goodnight" she said, her voice lower than normal.

Derek picked her up and said "I'll carry this princess to bed. Say goodnight to your mom"

"Goodnight mom" Bella said and Emily kissed her cheek.  
Derek carried Bella to her room and tucked her in. "Goodnight Bella, I love you" he said and gave her a kiss on her forehead. She turned around and he left the room, after turning the night light on and the ceiling light off.  
He walked to Emily's bedroom and she went to shower. Derek used the guest bathroom and took a quick shower too. Once done he checked to see if Bella was asleep and then met Emily back in the bedroom. They laid in bed, he threw one arm around her and she rested on him.

"Are you sure we're ready for this?" Derek asked.

"I am" she said. "You?"

"Yes" he said and kissed her. Then he wrapped her in his arms a little bit tighter and kissed her forehead.  
Emily closed her eyes and smiled. She was so happy. She really wanted to go back on the field but right there she felt like her life was finally going great. She had a good job, an amazing house, great friends, a daughter who was safe and loved her and a boyfriend like no other. As much as she wanted her old job back she didn't want her old life back. She loved the way it was now and she couldn't wait to tell her daughter that Derek was going to move in with them.

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Around 2:40am Isabella woke up screaming. Quickly Emily and Derek ran to the child's bedroom. They found her siting in bed crying and Lulu laying next to her.

"Mommy" Bella cried as Emily ran to her side and pulled her to her lap. Emily rocked her while saying soothing words in her ear. The girl started to calm down and when Derek saw she was okay to talk he asked what the dream was about.

"I don't wanna talk about that" Bella said.

Derek saw she was really shaken up. "Your mom is not going anywhere. You know that right?" He said.

Bella instantly cuddled up to Emily. And right there Derek and Emily knew that was the subject of the nightmare.

"Bella your mom is going to work from the office. We already decided that. It's okay" Derek told her.

"Yeah. I'll be okay there and you're safe. It was just a bad dream" Emily said rocking the girl.

"I know but I don't feel good" Bella said. She was sweating so much.

"It will go away." Emily said.

"Do you want us to stay here with you?" Derek asked.

Bella quickly nodded yes. So Emily let her go and they laid down together. Bella right in the middle and Lulu took a spot at the end of the bed.

"We have some exciting news to tells you" Emily said, thinking that would be a good cheer up. She looked at Morgan and both smiled.

"What news?" Bella asked.

"Derek is going to come live here" Emily said and the child's face light up.

"You are?" Bella asked him.

"Yes I am" he smiled. Bella hugged him tight.

"You're gonna have a mom _and_ a dad in the same house now, how about that?" Emily asked smiling. She knew the girl would be excited about that.

"Good" Bella said. "Does that mean you'll get married and you'll be my dad forever?" The girl asked surprising them.

Emily was speechless.

"We're going slow, kid" Derek said. "But I'll be your dad forever. No matter what" he told Bella and she hugged him again.

"Promise?" She asked.

"I promise" Derek said. Bella let go of him and hid on her mom's chest.

Emily soothed her hair and stared at Morgan. They smiled.

"I love you. Both of you" Bella said.

"We love you too" Emily and Derek said in unison.

"So much" Emily added and kissed the top of Isabella's head.

Soon enough the three were back asleep.

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The next morning, Friday, Bella woke up and smiled when she found Emily and Derek sleeping on her bed. She cuddled up to her mom and Emily hugged her in her sleep which made Bella smile even bigger. She was so happy that Derek was going to live with them.  
Suddenly the alarm clock went off and Emily and Derek woke up.

"Good morning" Emily smiled at the girl whose dark brown eyes were staring at her. Bella smiled back.

"What day is today?" Bella asked.

"Friday" Derek said throwing his arm around both Prentiss girls.

"Friday?!" Bella said surprised. "Oh my god! Choir auditions are today! I have to get up" Bella said and basically jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

Emily and Derek laughed.

"I don't think I've seen her this excited about anything in a long time" Emily smiled.  
Derek smiled at her and they kissed.

"Good morning" Derek said and Emily kissed him again.

Suddenly Isabella walked back in the room. "Come on! Stop kissing and get up! I don't want to be late!" She said grabbing her uniform and running out of the room again.

Emily and Derek laughed.  
"Well, I guess we do have to get up" Emily said with a tired tone.

"Come on" Derek smiled and they got out of bed and went to get ready.

Isabella quickly finished her morning routine and ran to her mom so Emily could do her hair. "Can you make a french braid please?!" Bella asked. Emily happily did the child's hair and then they went downstairs for breakfast. Derek had made scrambled eggs and toast. They ate and headed out the door.  
The drive to school was quiet since Isabella was going over the papers, with all the names of the kids that were auditioning, that she had to give to her choir director. When Derek parked the car in front of the school the girl put the papers in her folder and kissed her parents goodbye.

"Please don't go on the field mom" Bella said serious.

"I won't baby. Don't worry" Emily told her. "And have fun at school" she added.

"What time do we pick you up today?" Derek asked.

"I have no idea. Chloe and I will watch all the auditions so I don't know how long that will take" Bella said.

"So you'll call?" Emily asked.

"Sure" The girl said and suddenly she saw her friends waiting at the front steps. "I gotta go! Love you. Bye. And be safe" she added and got out of the car and ran to her friends.

"She sure is excited" Emily said and They laughed watching Bella run to her friends.  
The girl waved goodbye and they drove to work. In there Emily talked to Hotch and told him that she really couldn't go on the field at the time. He understood and apologized for the day before.

"Oh no Hotch. It wasn't your fault. I wanted to go" Emily said.

Suddenly he realized. "You want to go back, don't you?" He asked.

"I do but... I can't right now. She's not ready for that yet" Emily said and Hotch nodded understanding.

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At school, Isabella had a great day with her friends. All the classes went fine and she absolutely loved watching all the auditions with Chloe and Mister Levi. He even asked for their opinion on the kids that tried out. He said that the list would be out on Monday and they were excited to find out who would get in. So since it was finished Isabella called her mom who quickly drove to pick her up.

"How was it?" Emily asked excited to hear.

"It was great! There were so many people this year" Bella said.

"I can see that. It's almost 6. I was starting to get worried" Emily said and Bella said sorry.

"Well, I'm done at the office so how about we stop for some food?" Emily asked.

"Chick-Fil-A?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled.

.

They got their food and sat to eat.

"Why didn't dad come too?" Bella asked.

"He went home to start packing" Emily said.

"When is he moving?" Bella asked excited.

"Sunday" Emily smiled and Bella's smile grew even bigger.

"Are you super excited about that?"

"Of course I am mom!" Bella said.

"Oh the team doesn't know yet" Emily said.

"Why didn't you tell today?" Bella asked.

"I don't know, we were just so busy working and it didn't really come up" Emily explained. "But Rossi invited everyone to his house tomorrow for lunch and we're thinking of telling them there"

"I think everyone will be really happy too" Bella said.

There was a minute of silence as they just ate their food till Bella said "mom, can I ask you something?"

"Of course" Emily said.

"Are you mad that I don't want you to go on the field again?" Bella asked serious.

"Of course not, baby. I understand that you're scared" Emily said grabbing Bella's right hand. "I love how our life is right now and I wouldn't change that for the world"

"I'm sorry I'm not ready for that" Bella said.

"It's okay" Emily gave her a smile.

Bella thought for a while and then said "maybe one day I will be"

"Maybe one day" Emily smiled.

"Mom, can I ask you another thing?" Bella said.

"Sure honey" Emily laughed.

"Do you want to marry Derek?"

Emily froze. She thought for a moment and then said "maybe one day"

Bella smiled.

"Look, we've known each other for a long time but we've been dating for pretty much just a month. And I love him, I really do but I think it's a little early to think about marriage" Emily said and Bella looked down. "You really want that to happen, don't you?" Emily said.

"He makes you so happy, mom" Bella smiled.

"He does" Emily smiled.

"But yeah... maybe one day you'll get married. Who knows?!" Bella smiled and Emily smiled back.

They finished eating and headed home. Bella spent the rest of the night watching tv while Emily opened some space in her closet for Morgan. Around 11, they went to bed and that night Bella asked to sleep with her mom.

"Of course you can" Emily smiled and Bella quickly got under the covers. Emily laid down and hugged her.

"Mom?" Bella said.

"Yes" Emily said.

"When dad is here and umm..." she took a deep breath. "If I need to stay with you for the night and dad is here... what's gonna happen?" She asked.

"I'll go to your room or you'll come stay here with us. It's okay" Emily said.

"But what if you two want to be alone. You know..." Bella said and Emily knew she was talking about the "s" word.

"We are your parents honey. You come first" Emily said. "And if we want to do that we'll go somewhere else, don't worry" she said and Bella laughed.

Emily laughed too and hugged the girl tighter. "I love you, silly girl"

"I love you too" Bella smiled.

Soon they were sleeping.

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(Saturday)

Emily and Bella woke up that morning, had breakfast and then started to make some room around the house for Morgan's things. They cleaned some drawers and cabinets around the house and Emily finished working on her closet. Soon it was 1pm and they headed out for lunch at Rossi's house. The entire team was there. JJ took Will and Henry, and Hotch took Jack, so all the kids played in the backyard while the grownups talked inside.  
Rossi was the first one that noticed how happy Bella seemed to be. "She's a bubbly thing today" he told Emily.

Emily smiled and said "yeah"

Right there Rossi knew something was up.  
"Hey hey hey, what's going on?" He asked her. Derek laughed. "You two are up to something" Rossi said.

Emily looked around and everyone was staring at her waiting for her to say something. She looked at Morgan and it was time.  
"We're moving in together" Emily said and everyone smiled and congratulated them.

"No wonder Bella is so happy today" JJ said and they smiled.

"She's so excited" Emily said and everyone smiled. They were all so happy for them.

.

Later, lunch got ready and everyone sat to eat. Rossi asked Bella about the big news and she was all smiles. She was truly happy that that was happening. They ate and then the kids went back to the backyard to play. Everyone headed home around 4 and they could all agree they had a wonderful time.

"We should do this more often" Emily told Rossi.

"Next time at your house" Rossi smiled.

Derek went to his house to finish packing. He was pretty much just taking his clothes and some essentials. Emily and Bella headed home and sat to watch tv. They just hung out and around 10 they went to bed. Emily tucked Bella in and the kid was super excited for the next day.

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Sunday soon came and Isabella was all smiles when Derek arrived right after lunch. She helped him unpack and around 3 they were all done.

"So this is it" Derek smiled at Emily.

Bella ran to them and hugged them both. "This is the best day ever!" She smiled and they laughed.

"So I think this calls for celebratory ice cream" Emily said. Bella looked up and smiled.

Morgan lifted her up and carried her to the car as she hugged his neck.

"I love you dad" Bella said.

"I love you too" Derek smiled and put her down next to the car.

Emily locked the house and they headed off. They ate ice cream and then went to the mall.

"Let's go in there?" Derek asked Bella, pointing to the disney store, and the kid smiled excited.

"While you're in there I'll take a look at that store" Emily said pointing to a store she liked to shop.

Derek smiled and they parted ways. Bella and Derek walked around the disney store and Morgan absolutely loved seeing the kid so excited about all those things.

"Look at this one" Morgan said picking out some pajamas. Bella smiled and he saw she liked it. "Do you wanna get it?" He asked. She made a face as if she was embarrassed to say yes and he laughed. Derek held the pajamas in his arms and said "come on, what else?" and they walked to another part of the store.  
Twenty minutes later, they walked out with two bags full of stuff and found Emily waiting at a bench outside holding a bag too.

"Wow. You're spoiling her" Emily made a face.

"I didn't ask him to" Bella said and Emily laughed.

"It's pretty much clothes. Girls love clothes. And we got something for you too" he smiled.

"Oh you did?" Emily laughed. "I'm excited to se that" she said.

"You'll love it... I hope" Bella said and everyone laughed. They headed to the car and soon parked at home. Everyone went to the living room and Bella handed Emily her present.  
Emily opened and smiled when she saw a Minnie Mouse mug with the word " _mom_ " written on it.

"Thank you guys" Emily smiled.

"Look! Dad has one too" Bella said and showed Emily Derek's mug.

Emily smiled at how happy her daughter was about that.

"And look at mine" Bella said and grabbed a Beauty and The Beast mug that had a "B" on it. "They don't make mugs with daughter written on it" Bella said and they laughed.

"What else did you get?" Emily asked and Bella showed her everything. Derek did spoil Bella a little bit, he got her Moana pajamas and Minnie Mouse pajamas, a tshirt with the 7 dwarfs on it, the mug, a Star Wars water bottle for school, a Star Wars stationary set and last but not least two new tsum tsums for her collection.

"That sure is a lot of stuff" Emily said.

"It was his idea, I swear" Bella said.

"It's for letting me stay here" Derek joked.

"Well, that was for free dad, but thanks for all the presents" Bella smiled and they smiled. Derek pulled her to his lap.

"Are you happy?" He asked.

"More than happy" she smiled.

"That's what matters" he said and she hugged him.

Emily just smiled at the scene. Her heart was blooming. She couldn't happier.

"So how about popcorn and a movie to end this awesome day?" Derek asked.

"Yeah" Bella said excited.

"Alright but first someone needs a shower" Emily told Bella. "Come on, put on your new pajamas" she said and Bella grabbed the bags and ran upstairs. She showered, put on her Moana pajamas and headed downstairs to find Emily and Derek waiting for her with a bucket full of popcorn.

"Awe you look so cute" Emily said and pulled Bella to her lap and kissed her cheek.

"What are we watching?" Bella asked sitting between Emily and Derek.

"Does the last Lord Of The Rings sounds good?" Emily asked.

"Yup. I haven't seen it yet" Bella said. Emily pressed play and they started eating the popcorn. Half way through the movie the little one started getting tired and rested her head on Derek's arm. Soon enough she was out. Emily noticed and signed so Derek would see. He smiled at the sight of the sleeping girl and smiled at Emily.

"I think we made her very very happy today" Derek said.

"You made me very happy today" Emily said and Derek smiled. He moved closer to her and they kissed. Bella opened her eyes and saw.

"I think this is the best day of my life" Bella mumbled.

They stopped kissing and looked down to find those dark brown eyes staring at them and a smiled on the child's face. They laughed and kissed again.  
Bella snuggled closed to Morgan and he pulled her to his lap.

"You sleep right here with us" he said and she closed her eyes and Emily moved closer to him. Soon enough all three fell asleep on the couch.  
And there they stayed the entire night.


	91. Chapter 91: Gone Girl

The next morning Emily woke up first and smiled when she saw they had fallen asleep on the couch. Isabella had a tight grip on Derek's shirt and was passed out in his arms.  
Emily felt bad but she had to wake them up.

"Derek" she whispered tapping his arm and he opened his eyes. "We're gonna be late" she told him. They quickly woke Bella and went to get ready.

The day went great.  
Isabella had fun at school and her friends were super happy to know everyone made it to choir. At work, Emily and Derek had a morning filled with paper work. Both were glad nothing much happened. Around 3:38, Bella walked out of school to find Derek waiting for her. She gave him a big hug and they went to the car. She told him about her friends being in the choir too and Derek was happy for her. Soon they got to the BAU and Bella hung out at Derek's office while everyone worked.  
Around 6:30, they headed home.

"It feels nice driving home like this" Derek told Emily and she smiled. She looked in the back seat to see Bella's reaction and the girl was out.

"I guess someone agrees" Emily said and they smiled.

When they got home, Morgan took Bella inside and placed her on her bed. He covered her up and went to stay with Emily downstairs. They sat in the living room together and later decided to cook dinner together.  
Bella woke up and she could hear them laughing downstairs. She smiled and headed down. She found them in the kitchen cooking and drinking wine.

"Well, hello sleepy head" Emily said and the girl smiled.

"Do you mind helping us out here?" Derek asked holding a bowl of salad. Bella quickly went and helped them. The three of them couldn't be happier to be together.  
And they couldn't stop smiling.  
Once dinner was ready they ate and sat to finish the movie from the previous night. Once done, they headed to bed. Emily tucked Bella in and met Derek in her bedroom, now _their_ bedroom. They laid down together and talked a little bit about the day. They were so happy things were going great. Soon they feel asleep.

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 _ **Four weeks quickly passed.**_ __  
Derek had traveled twice for cases and Emily and him had started to be more open about them with Bella. Of course they wouldn't tell her everything, but the plot of it all and how they got the bad guys they made sure she knew.  
Things in the house were great and everyday they felt more and more like a family.

That Monday morning, Emily and Derek dropped Bella off at school.

"Behave at Gavin's house" Emily told Bella. "And good luck on your project" she added.

Bella smiled and kissed both of her parents goodbye.  
"I'll see you tonight." She said and headed out. Bella was going to Gavin's house after school so she could work on a science project with Gavin and Mazzy. Michael was doing with another friend of his, and Chloe and Rose were doing together.

Bella waved goodbye at her parents and they drove to work as usual. When they got there Penelope was anxiously waiting for them.

"We have a case. It's bad bad bad" she said and they followed her to the round table.  
She presented the case and Emily felt her heart sink. Four children had gone missing in the DC area in the last month. They found the body of 1, a blond boy who was 11 years old. He had ligature marks which meant he had been kidnapped.

"Why do you think these are connected?" Derek asked.

"Same MO. All four of them went missing during a sunny day at the park. No witnesses, nothing. They just vanished." Penelope said.

"Morgan, Rossi, I need you to go to the disposal site. Reid, JJ, we need to talk to these families" Hotch said.

"Prentiss stay with Garcia and get me as much information about these children as possible" Hotch said.

Everyone went to do what they were told. Emily sat at Garcia's office and they started searching. As they worked Emily got more and more tensed and anxious. The kids were aged 9 to 13. All straight A students from private schools and rich families. That was hitting close to home. She tried her best to concentrate at her work. She knew Bella was safe at school and at Gavin's house. She kept repeating on her head that the girl was okay.  
Out in the street Derek was going through the same thing. He couldn't stop imagining. He couldn't stop feeling worried.

They met again at the office at 10am.

"Are you alright?" JJ asked Emily.

"I feel like I might throw up any time" Emily admitted.

"I feel the same way. I think I called Henry's school three times already" JJ said.

"Did you talk to their families?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" JJ said with a sad face. Suddenly Derek walked in and hugged Emily.

"It's getting to you too, huh?" JJ asked him.

"Did you call her?" Derek made a face and asked Emily.  
Emily took her phone out of her pocket and called Bella.

.

Bella was at school having a science class and she was surprised when she saw her mom was calling. Emily never called her during classes. Bella talked to her teacher, misses Edmund, and went to the hallway to answer the call.

"Hi mom" Bella said. "Is everything okay? I was in the middle of science class"

"Yeah. Just checking on you" Emily smiled relieved to hear her daughter's voice. "Your dad is sending a hug" Emily said.

"Sending one back" Bella laughed. "Well if you don't mind I gotta go. Science class you know" Bella said.

"Sorry" Emily said. "Bye"

"Bye mom" Bella said and they hung up. Isabella went back to class and Chloe asked her if something happened.

"No no. It's fine. It was just my mom going a little crazy. Probably a hard case, you know" Bella said, and they went back to paying attention to the class.

.

At the BAU, Emily and Derek felt a bit better after talking to Bella. Soon Hotch interrupted them and sent them out to do more work. Emily went back to work at her desk.

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Around 3:40pm, Bella texted Emily letting her know that she had arrived at Gavin's house and they were getting a snack before starting their project.

" _Have fun! Xx_ " Emily sent.

Hotch walked in the bullpen and told Emily to go over some files with Garcia. So Prentiss went to Penelope's office. They looked at missing child cases in the city and surrounding areas in the last 6 months and after almost an hour, Emily couldn't take it anymore.

"Garcia, I'll be right back" Emily said and went to the bathroom. She called Isabella.

.

Bella was working on her project when her phone started ringing. Her hands were covered in glue.

"Oh god" Bella laughed trying to clean it up with a paper towel. Gavin helped her and she picked her phone up and answered the call.

"Hi mom" Bella said.

"Hi baby. Is everything okay?" Emily asked letting out a deep breath.

"Yeah. We are super busy mom. There's so much stuff to do. I don't even know if we'll be done today" Bella said.

"Oh I'm sorry I bothered calling, honey. I just needed to hear your voice" Emily said.

"Hard case?" Bella asked just knowing.

"Yeah. It's in the city so I just freaked out a little that's all" Emily said.

"And what's the case?" Bella asked. "Is it with kids?"

Emily wasn't sure if she should tell. She didn't want to scare Bella but she decided to go ahead and just say it.  
"Yeah. But we're working on it."

"I'm safe at Gavin's house, right?" Bella asked.

"Yes you are. Don't worry" Emily said. "The kids were taken from a park. You have nothing to worry about"

Suddenly Bella felt her stomach turn. She felt like throwing up.  
"From what park? when?" She asked.

"A few parks in the last month or so, and the last one two days ago, why?" Emily asked worried.

"Oh my god" Bella said.

"Bella, what's going on?!" Emily demanded.

"Chloe" Bella whispered terrified.

"Chloe? What's with Chloe?!" Emily asked confused.

"Chloe is in the park with Rose" Bella said. Gavin and Mazzy stared at her.

"Honey calm down. They are probably okay. I'll call Chloe right now. Calm down" Emily said trying to calm Bella.

"Mom I called her like 5 minutes ago and she didn't answer." Bella said already thinking the worst.

"Baby, calm down. Listen to me. Don't worry. Go work on your project, I'll call Chloe and Rose. They are fine. Calm down" Emily said. "Let me talk to Colette" Emily said and Bella handed the phone to Gavin's mom who was worried about how the girl was.

"Hello" Colette said.

"Tell the kids not to worry. I'll call the girls and I'll call back to let them know." Emily said.

"Okay. Chloe probably just didn't hear her phone" Colette said trying to stay calm so she wouldn't freak the kids out even more.

"I'm going to ask Penelope to trace her phone. Wait a sec" Emily went to Garcia's office. Penelope was confused but did as told. The signal was coming from the park. Emily breathed out relieved.

"She's at the park. I'm gonna call her and I'll call you in a little bit" Emily said.

"Okay. Bye" Colette said and they hung up.

"She's okay, right?" Gavin asked.

"She's okay." Colette said. "She's in the park. Your mom traced her phone" Colette said and the kids breathed out relieved.

"Do you need some water?" Colette asked Bella.

"Yes" Bella said. She could feel her heart beating fast. She drank the water and they sat down for a while. Then went back to working on their project.

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At the BAU, Emily tried calling Chloe just to make sure. She called 5 times but she wouldn't answer. She was starting to get really worried again. She tried Rose's number 3 times and on the fourth the girl answered.

"Oh god! Rose. Hi it's Emily. Bella's mom" Emily said relieved. But no one answered.

"Rose?" Emily said. "Rose, are you there?!" She asked scared. Penelope's eyes were full of tears already.

"Emily" Rose said sounding tired.

"Yes it's Emily. I'm right here. Hi. Are you okay?"

"No" Rose cried.

"Rose, what's wrong? What happened?" Emily asked.  
Rose cried and Emily's heart broke.  
"Sweetheart, what happened?" She asked.

"They took her" Rose said.

"Who did?"

"I don't know" Rose said.

"Sweetie, where are you? Can you tell me so I can go pick you up? Where are you Rosie?" Emily asked worried.

"At the park. On a tree" Rose cried.

"What can you see close to you?" Emily asked trying her best to stay calm.

"The playground" Rose said.

"Stay there and wait for me, okay?" Emily said. "Wait for me there. Do you understand?"

"Yes" Rose said.

"I'll be right there" Emily said and hung up.

"Is she okay?" Garcia said.

"I don't think she can find Chloe. I'm heading there" Emily said.

"Oh god no" Garcia said.

"Call Derek, tell him to meet me at the playground at the Woodward Park" Emily said and left.  
She drove to the park and soon parked close to the playground. Rose saw her and climbed down. She ran to Emily and Emily hugged her tight. Emily felt her hand was wet when she touched Rose's head.

"Oh my god. What happened to your head?" Emily said seeing the blood on her hand.

"I don't know. It hurts" Rose said.

"Come here" Emily said and picked Rose up and carried her to a bench close by.  
"Just breathe slow and tell me what happened"

"We were interviewing people for our school project and then we got tired and sat down and they came" Rose said.

"Who came?" Emily asked.

"I don't know. They wore black clothes and then.." Rose said and cried.

"You are okay. I'm right here with you" Emily said, hugging the girl.

"I saw them and then it all went black and I woke up in there" Rose said pointing to a bench close to a fountain.

"It all went black?" Emily asked and Rose nodded.

"I looked for her everywhere. I couldn't find her and I got scared they'd come back for me so I hid and then you called." Rose said. "You have to find her. Please you have to" the girl cried.

Suddenly Derek arrived. He saw Emily with the girl and ran to them. JJ followed right behind.

"What happened?" Morgan asked.

"They took Chloe" Emily said.


	92. Chapter 92: Just Find Her

JJ called Hotch as Derek carried Rose to the car. Aaron sent CSI to the park and Emily took Rose to the hospital with JJ. The girl was examined and she had a concussion. JJ was the one that told Rose's mother. The woman ran to the hospital and Rose cried so much when she got there. The kid was so scared and really shaken up.

"Does Hilary know yet?" Emily asked JJ.

"Hotch just called her. She's meeting him at the BAU." JJ said and Emily had to take a deep breath in order to calm down. She couldn't believe that was happening. How was she supposed to tell her daughter that her best friend had been kidnapped.

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Emily and JJ drove to the BAU. They got there and when they walked in the bullpen Emily's heart sank when she saw Penelope sitting at her desk holding Millie, Chloe's sister, in her arms.

"Emi" Millie said and opened her arms asking to be picked up by her favorite aunt. Emily quickly scooped the girl up and the six year-old rested on her shoulder.

"Where's mommy?" Millie asked.

"She'll be back soon. She's just talking to Bella's dad" JJ said as she looked up at the conference room and saw Derek hugging Hilary as she cried.  
Emily looked up and her eyes filled with tears.  
Derek let go of Hilary and saw Emily. His face broke her heart.

"Millie, can you stay with aunt Penny so I can go talk to your mommy really quick?" Emily asked and the small girl nodded.

"Come here. Let's go see my office" Penelope said with a smile trying to somehow help the girl.

Emily and JJ went to the conference room and the room went silent when they arrived. Emily didn't know what to do.

Hotch suddenly said "we have agents in her apartment and Rossi and Reid are working in my office. Can you two please stay with her?"

"Of course" JJ said.

Derek and Hotch walked out of the room and JJ guided Hilary to the couch.

"We'll do everything we can to find her" JJ said. Hilary rested on JJ's shoulder and Emily took a spot next to her, leaving Hilary in the middle. Emily held Hilary's hand.

"Where are the other kids?" Hilary asked.

"Rose is in the hospital with her mother. Bella and Mazzy are at Gavin's house." JJ said.

Emily was still speechless.

"Did you tell them?" Hilary asked but Emily didn't answer so she turned to face her. "Did you tell Bella?" Hilary asked.

"No" Emily said as her eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly Hotch walked in.  
"We might have a lead." He said.

Emily stood up ready to help.

"Derek is heading to Colette's house and bringing the kids here. We need to talk to them." Hotch said.

"What? Why?" Emily asked confused.

"Reid found a connection between the victims. It's a website." Hotch explained. "It's for school things like quizzes and practice tests. They have chat groups and Garcia found every single victim used that website. And that can't be just a coincidence."

Emily's heart was beating fast, the thought of Bella soon arriving there and finding out what was happening was killing her. She didn't want her daughter to go through more pain. She couldn't let the girl lose her best friend.

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Derek arrived at Colette's house and she answered the door.  
"Did something happen? Emily didn't call back" she said.

"We need the kids help with something" Derek said. "It's bad Colette" he said.

"Oh god" she said taking her hand to cover her mouth.

"Chloe was kidnapped but Let's not tell them here. They need to stay calm right now. We are doing everything we can to find her" Derek said.

"Mom, who is it?" Gavin asked.

Colette took a deep breath and they walked inside.

"Dad!" Bella said and ran to hug him. "Why did you come so early?" She asked.

"We need you guys to help us with something at the office" Derek said.

"Help you with what? Is it about the case mom said you're working on?" Bella asked.

"Yes. It's something on the computer. Could you guys come to the office with me?" He said.

"Sure but can't Penelope help?" Bella asked.

"No. she's busy with something else" Derek said. "So let's go?"

"Sure" Bella said and they washed their hands and headed to the car. The drive was fine. Gavin was excited to go to the BAU but he couldn't help but notice how his mom seemed nervous. When they arrived he asked if she was okay.

"Yeah yeah. Let's go inside" Colette said and they went.  
When the elevator stopped at the sixth floor Derek guided them to Hotch's office.

"Where's my mom?" Bella asked him when she saw Hotch and Rossi were in the room waiting for them.

"She's in the conference room" Hotch said. "You'll see her in a little bit but we need to talk first" he said serious.

Suddenly the kids realized there was something really serious going on.

"What happened?" Bella asked.

"Sit down guys" Derek said.

"What happened? Is my mom okay?" Bella asked scared.

"She's okay Bella" Derek said and she sat down. And it suddenly hit her.

"Wait. Is it Chloe?" She asked.

"Bella" Gavin said so Bella would shut up and let them talk.

"Is it? Is it Chloe and Rose?" Bella asked and Gavin grabbed her hand.

"What happened to them?" Mazzy asked.

"Just tell us" Gavin said serious.

"They were at the park and-" Hotch said.

"No" Bella whispered knowing something bad happened to them.

"Rose is okay, she had a concussion and she's in the hospital with her mom but Chloe was kidnapped" Hotch went straight to the point.

"No" Bella said.

"We are pretty sure it's the same unsubs of the case we are working on" Hotch said.

Bella simply got up and tried to run out of the room. She couldn't believe that was happening. She couldn't believe someone she loved was is such danger again.  
Before she could make to the door Derek grabbed her. He grabbed her arm and picked her up.

"No! Let me go! I need to find her. We have to find her" Bella cried trying to be let go of, but he was holding her too tight so she just gave up and sobbed "you need to find her, daddy"

Mazzy and Gavin were crying too.

"You'll find her, right?" Gavin asked Hotch.

"We'll do everything we can to bring her home" Hotch told him. Gavin nodded.

"Come here you two" Colette told them and Gavin and Mazzy walked to her and she hugged them.

"Bella we didn't lie, we really need you guys to help us" Derek said. He took Bella to the couch and placed her on his lap. "Can you helps us?" He asked them.

"Sure" Gavin said.

"Sit here" Derek told them and they sat next to him. "What do you guys know about a website called _FlexSchool_?"

"It's for homework and things like that" Mazzy said.

"Do you use that?" Derek asked.

"Most kids at our school do" Gavin said.

"Do any of you use the chat rooms?" Rossi asked.

"Michael does." Gavin said.

"I used it twice" Mazzy said.

"And what do you guys talk about in there?" Derek asked.

"It's just for school stuff. Usually people talk about grades and projects or subjects they're learning" Bella said.

"Did you ever use the chat?" Derek asked her.

"No. But Chloe did. She showed it to me how it worked" Bella said. "Is that why someone took her?" She said as tears still streamed down her face.

"We think it might be where they choose the kids" Hotch said.

"Does any of you know Chloe's password?" Hotch asked.

"No" Gavin said.

Bella thought for a while and then she remembered. "I do" she said.

"Can you tell Penelope?" Derek asked and she nodded and hid her face on his chest.

"Derek take her to talk to Garcia. The kids can stay here in my office" Hotch said.

"Okay" Derek said and got up. Bella took his hand and they went to Garcia's office.

"Colette, can you watch Millie for a while? She's with Penelope. Hilary is with Prentiss and JJ. She needs some time" Hotch said.

"Of course" Colette said. "I'll be right back" she told the kids and followed Morgan.

In Garcia's office they walked in to find Penelope holding sleeping Millie in her arms. Garcia's eyes filled with tears when she saw Isabella's face.

"I'll take her." Colette said and picked Millie up, who stayed sleeping, and carried her o Hotch's office.

"Come here bunny" Penelope said and hugged Bella tight.

"You'll find her, right?" The small girl said as more tears streamed down her face.  
Penelope didn't know what to say.

"Bella can you log in for us?" Derek asked. Bella let go of Penelope and Garcia pulled the kid to her lap. She turned to the screen and told Bella to go ahead. Isabella opened the website and logged in on Chloe's account.

"Where are the chat rooms?" Derek asked her.

She opened them and Garcia went through the chat rooms Chloe used to write on. Chat room number 5 was called " _scienceforthegreats_ " and was filled with questions from kids and answers from an account named " _thatteach135_ ".

"Who's this one?" Penelope asked as she noticed most accounts were the kids names and that one was different.

"That's the science teacher that helps them" Bella said.

Garcia scanned the messages and her heart sank.  
"They are all here" Penelope told Derek.

"They who?" Bella asked.

"Here" Penelope said when she saw. She clicked on a members button and it showered all the users in that chat room.

"Look Derek. This must be it." She said and suddenly Hotch walked in.

"Did you find anything?" He asked.

"There's this chat room where all these kids were in. They talked about pretty much anything" Penelope said when she saw.

"Oh god" she saw when she noticed one of Chloe's messages.

"What?" Bella asked.

"This user gave her the idea for their project. Look" Garcia said. "And in here she told them she was going to do it today"

"Everyone who accessed that chat room knew where she was going. She even said it was after school" Penelope said.

"Garcia do everything you possibly can and find who all these users are" Hotch said. "Morgan" he said and signed to Bella. Derek understood he wanted her out of the room.

"Come here, baby girl. Let's find your mom" Derek said and picked Bella up.

"Did it help?" Bella asked him.

"Yes. You did a very good job, princess" Derek said and she rested on his shoulder. He ran circles on her back.

"Just find her, please" Bella said.

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Derek carried Bella to the conference room and when he opened the door Emily quickly walked to him and he handed Bella over. The girl just bursted into tears again.

"Shuuuuu shuuuu they'll find her, baby. It's going to be okay" Emily said as she took Bella to the couch.  
Emily sat next to Hilary and the woman held Bella's hand. Bella looked up and when she saw her friend's mom she cried even more. Hilary pulled Bella to her lap and held her tight as both of them cried.  
After a while Bella wanted her mother again so she went to Emily's lap.

"Calm down, honey" Emily said and wiped her daughter tears.

"Do you guys want some water?" JJ asked Hilary and Bella.

"Yes please" Hilary said.

"Bella?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said as more tears rolled down her cheeks. Emily hugged her tight.

JJ handed them the water and then put the glasses back on the table.  
Suddenly Reid walked in.  
"Emily, Derek" he said and Emily looked up. "Hotch needs to speak to you" he said.

"Come here Bella" JJ said and Bella went and sat on JJ's lap.

Emily, Derek and Reid met Hotch at Penelope's office. He told them that that user on the chat was an unemployed teacher that lived in the central area and that was right where the boy's body was found. He said he wanted Rossi and Derek to go there with SWAT agents because that could be it.

"I want to go sir" Emily said.

"Emily" Derek said in disapproval.

"No Derek. I have to. She's going to be terrified. I have to be there" Emily said.

"It's up to you" Hotch said.

"I'm going" Emily said and went to her desk to get her badge. She got everything and headed to the door.

.

When they got to the teacher's house they found the man in the backyard. He lived alone and after finding a white van in the garage and ropes inside of it they knew he was involved. They arrested him and took him to the police station to get questioned. During the questioning Derek and Emily went crazy on him and he ended up confessing he had kidnapped those kids.

"And where are they?" Emily demanded.

"You're too late. You'll never find them now" he laughed.

"And you'll never see the sun again" Derek told him. He left the room and Emily followed.  
They knew they wouldn't get anything from that man so they rushed to the car and on their way to the BAU they called Hotch and explained everything.  
Aaron told Garcia that he must have given the children to someone else. There were no signs that they were ever at his house and Rose said " _they_ took her".  
Garcia dig and dig and found out about a website that had been created with the same IP address. When she opened she felt like throwing up as the pictures of those kids filled the screen. They were being auctioned.

Suddenly Emily and Derek walked in.  
"Oh god" Emily said when she saw.

"That's her" Derek said when she saw the picture of a sad looking Chloe.

Hotch went into action.  
He told Garcia to fake a buyer. She made an account from her personal computer that had nothing to do with the FBI and simply "bought" Chloe. They arranged the meeting for it to happen in an hour. Hotch spent that hour organizing their plan. The kids stayed at his office and Bella stayed with Hilary and JJ. Emily went to check on them and told what they had found so far and what the plan was.

"Do you think it will work?" Hilary asked.

"Yes." Emily said. "We'll get her out of there before doing anything to them. She'll be okay" she explained.

Hilary nodded.

"I'm going with them, okay Bells?" Emily said kneeing down in front of the girl.

Bella jumped and hugged her.

"Just bring her home" the small girl cried.

Emily held her tears in and made Bella sit with JJ again. The girl hid her face on JJ's chest and just kept crying. Hilary hugged them both and cried.

"Can we pray?" Hilary asked.

"Of course we can" JJ said.  
As she held Bella in her arms she grabbed Hilary's hand and they closed their eyes.

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When the clock hit 8pm, they were in their positions.  
Soon a car parked at the abandoned warehouse and a man came out.  
Hotch signed an agent to go. The man, Carson, walked out of the car and said "is it her?"

The other man said "identification please"

Agent Carson grabbed a piece of paper and said "12438968493-98"

"Bring her out" the man said with a sick grin. "I think you'll like this one." He added and another man stepped out of the car holding a gun at Chloe's head.  
"Give me your papers" the man said. He wanted to confirm. Agent Carson handed it to him and he said "enjoy your girl" and handed Chloe over. The girl just cried. She was terrified. While she was with those men nothing happened, she just stayed with other kids, they didn't do anything and she was now terrified of what the buyer you'll do to her.

"I will" Carson said and forced Chloe into the car. He buckled her up and whispered "be quiet. It's okay" as he signed to his FBI badge that was on the car's floor.

Chloe couldn't believe. Was she really being saved? She was so scared that she just sat there unable to reacted to it all. Carson got in the car and sprinted off. As he turned the street corner gun shots could be hear as the SWAT team and the FBI arrested those men.  
Carson drove to a parking lot and tried to make Chloe get out of the car.

"Come on, we need to move you" he said.

"No please don't hurt me" Chloe said as he tried to pull her out of the car.

"Chloe" someone called.

Chloe froze at the familiar voice. She looked out and saw Emily getting out of a SUV. Chloe jumped out and ran to Prentiss as fast as her legs could go.

"Emi. Emily" Chloe said and bursted into tears. She was shaking and so cold. Emily lifted her up and went back in the car.

"We've got you. It's okay. You're okay" Emily kept repeating as Hotch turned the heater on.

After a while, Carson got a call and went to talk to Hotch. "The arrest is made. One of them died, the other 2 were taken to the station. You guys can go now" he said.

"Did you hear that Chloe? You're going home" Hotch told the girl.

"Thank you" Chloe cried hugging Emily again. "Thank you so much" she said and Emily couldn't help but cry too. But it was happy tears. She was so happy the girl was there and okay.

On the drive back to the BAU, Emily talked to Chloe and the girl explained everything she remembered. All the agents were glad to find out she wasn't hurt physically, all they did to her was sedate her and then they took her to a house. With Chloe's description of what she saw and the men's, that was arrested, confessions the team was able to find the house and luckily all the kids were still there. They found out the young boy died because he had an allergic reaction to the sedative.

.

Hotch was almost 10 minutes away from the BAU when he got the call.

"Are you sure they're all okay?" Chloe asked.

"Yes." Hotch said. "They're okay" Hotch smiled. Chloe remembered Bella talking about how he rarely ever smiled so she couldn't help but smile too.

"We'll be at the bureau soon. Your mom is anxiously waiting for you." Hotch said.  
Chloe rested on Emily, finally feeling safe again.

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 _While that happened..._

At the BAU, Bella was so scared that her parents were out there and they were taking so long. She tried to take deeps breaths but it got to a point where she couldn't take it anymore.

"JJ" the girl said with such a sad voice that broke JJ's heart.

"Yes sweetheart?" JJ asked.

"I don't feel good" Bella said holding her tears in.

"Everything is going to be okay." JJ said.

"Why are they taking so long? What if something happened to them?!" Bella asked.

"They went to get Chloe. They are okay. Your parents are okay, I promise" JJ said.

"I don't feel so good. I can't breathe right" Bella said scared as many tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"It's okay sweetheart, they're coming back soon" JJ said.

"I can't breathe" Bella cried. Reid who was sitting at the table just keeping them company ran to her.

"I think she's having a panic attack" Reid said worried.

"I want my mom" Bella cried.

"Calm down. Take deeps breaths. They'll be here soon" JJ said making Bella sit up straight and rubbing soothing circles on the girl's back.

Bella couldn't take it anymore.  
"I want Penny!" She desperately cried.

"She's working honey. Stay here with me" JJ said trying to make Bella rest on her again.

"No. let me go" Bella cried.

"I'll stay with her in there" Reid said and JJ let Bella go. The kid was crying so much that Reid simply picked her up and carried her to Garcia's office without her saying another word.

.

"What happened?" Penelope asked worried when they arrived.

"She wants you" Reid explained and let Bella down. The kid quickly went to Penelope's arms.

"I can't breathe right" Bella said.

"I'm right here with you" Garcia said making Bella rest on her chest as she moved her chair side to side. "It's okay pumpkin. Aunt Penny is here. This feeling will go away. You're okay" Penelope kept saying.

Bella started to calm down but she couldn't keep the tears from falling.  
After some time she was calmer so Garcia told her to sit with Reid on her couch for a while so Bella went and Spencer wrapped her in his arms. About 10 minutes later Garcia got a call from Derek and they could finally breathe.

"We've got her. She's okay" Morgan said.

"You found her?!" Bella said getting up.

"She's okay and We'll be there soon, baby girl" Derek said happy with the outcome.

Bella ran to the conference room as fast as she could. She opened the door and the tears that rolled down her cheeks were of pure joy.

"They found her! She's okay" Bella said excited.

Hilary ran to her and they hugged.  
"She's coming home" Bella cried.

Hilary let go and wiped the girl's face. "Yeah" she laughed. "She's coming home" Hilary smiled and hugged Bella again.

JJ and Reid were crying too.  
At Hotch's office Penelope delivered the good news. Everyone was so happy Chloe was okay.

"Where's Bella?" Gavin asked Garcia.

"She's in the conference room. You guys can go there. It's okay. Come on, follow me" Penelope said and everyone followed her, including Colette and Millie, who was now fully awake. They walked in the conference room and Gavin ran and hugged Bella.

"They saved her" he said and Bella smiled.

Hilary picked Millie up and hugged her tight.  
"Is Chloe back?" Millie asked.

"She'll be here soon" JJ said with a smile.

"Thank you. All of you. Thank you so much" Hilary told Garcia, JJ and Reid.

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After a 30 minute drive, they finally parked the car and walked inside of the BAU. Emily held Chloe's hand tight and soon the elevator door opened. Everyone was anxiously waiting for them at the bullpen.  
Hotch held the glass door and Chloe and Emily walked in. Hilary ran to her daughter and hugged her very very tight.  
Everyone in that room was crying.

"Are you okay?" Hilary asked her.

"Yes" Chloe said.

"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" She asked.

"No mommy I'm okay." Chloe smiled. Hilary hugged her again. "Your friends are here" Hilary said and let go of Chloe. The girl ran to her friends and they had a group hug. Even Mazzy was crying.

"Where's Rose?" Chloe asked. "Is she okay?"

"She has a concussion but she'll be okay" Gavin said. Bella hugged her again.

"I'm so happy you're here" Bella said.

"You might want to thank you family for that." Chloe smiled and Bella smiled back and they hugged again.

Hilary turned to Emily and hugged her.  
"Thank you so much" she said. "I don't even want to think of what could have happened if you..." Hilary tried to say but cried.

Emily was speechless, she just hugged Hilary and let her cry.

Chloe walked to where the entire team was standing, and Hilary let go of Emily to watch what her daughter was going to do.

"thank you for saving my life". Chloe said.

Derek gave her a hug.  
"Dinner at our house?" Derek said and everyone laughed.

Bella smiled and suddenly her eyes met her mother's and she ran to her.  
"Thank you" Bella said and Emily picked her up. "Thank you for bringing her back, mom" she cried.

"You're welcome" Emily smiled. "Everything is okay now" she said and Bella looked at her and nodded. "I love you" Emily said.

"I love you too" Bella said.

"I think this day is calling for pizza" Chloe said and everybody laughed.

"Pizza will be" Derek said.

Everyone went to get their things so they could go. Hotch walked to Emily and said "good job out there today, Agent"

Emily smiled and Bella smiled too. Hotch went to his office while the team got ready to leave.

"Who needs a ride?" Derek asked.

"I do" Reid and Penelope said in unison.

"Let's go" Derek said.

Emily put Bella down and everyone walked to the elevator. They went to the parking lot and got in their cars and drove to Emily's house. Soon they walked in and went to the living room. JJ called Rose's mother to let her know Chloe was okay and then called Will so he could go to Emily's house. Soon they arrived and joined the celebration. Chloe didn't leave her mother's side and everyone was very happy the girl was safe and okay.  
Derek ordered pizza and then Bella went to talk to him. He picked her up and asked if she was okay.

"I'm okay now" Bella said.

"Reid said you had a panic attack again" he said and she looked down. "Was it a bad one?" He asked and she nodded and hid her face on his neck.

Emily saw and walked to them.

"But you're okay now" Derek said.

"Yes" Bella said sounding like she was crying.

"Oh princess. It's over now" Derek said running his hand on her back.  
Emily got there and Derek pulled her to them wrapping one arm around her.

Bella looked at her mom and said "I'm glad we're all okay now"

"Yeah" Derek smiled and kissed her cheek.  
"We're okay" he said as he watched his living room full of people who were talking and laughing.  
People happy to be together and okay.  
And right there in his arms were the two most important people in his life. Right at that moment he saw he didn't want anything else, he didn't need anything else.  
And he knew exactly what to do.


	93. Chapter 93: Will You Marry Me?

"Bella, why don't you take Hilary and Chloe upstairs so she can shower?" Derek asked her.

"Okay" Bella said. He put her down and Emily wiped her face.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella nodded. She wiped her face some more and walked to Hilary. Chloe was dying for a shower so they headed upstairs. Bella landed Chloe some clothes and Hilary sat in the bathroom with her daughter while Bella waited outside.

Emily went to talk to Colette and JJ so Derek went upstairs. He went to the closet and grabbed one of his bags. He pulled out a small box and opened it.  
And there it was... his mother's wedding ring.

He couldn't think of anything more perfect.  
He put it in his pocket and went to find Bella. He walked in the girl's bedroom and said "Bella, can I have a word?". The girl nodded and followed him to the third floor. Derek guided her to the beanbags in her playroom and they sat down.

"I need to ask you something very serious" he said facing her.

"Okay" Bella said.

"And if you're not ready for this I want you to tell me and we can wait. Do you understand?"

"Yes" she said.

He pulled the small box out and Bella's eyes widened.

"I would like to know if I can propose to your mother" he said staring at the box.

Bella smiled big and was speechless.

Since she didn't say anything Derek looked at her.  
"Is that a yes?" He asked.

"Yes! Yes! A million times yes!" She said excited and jumped in his arms.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes" Bella said and started crying. "Yes I'm sure, dad"

Derek hugged her tight.

"100%?" He asked smiling.

Bella let got of him and said... "One thousand percent"

Derek laughed and hugged her again. He let go and wiped her face.

"Here, open it up" he told her and handed her the box.

Isabella opened it and if her smile could have grown bigger it would have.

"Wow" she said. "She's gonna love this so much"

"It was my mother's" Derek said.

"It's beautiful, dad" Bella said and handed the box back.

"So can I go do it?" He asked.

"Right now?" Bella asked surprised.

"Yes" Derek smiled.

"Yay!" Bella said and jumped on him again. He lifted her up this time and carried her downstairs. He put her down in front of her bedroom door and they saw that Hilary was sitting on the bed brushing Chloe's hair.

Bella walked in and asked if Chloe was okay.

"Yeah" Chloe said. "Just a little scared I guess" she admitted.

"Umm Derek.. can I talk to you really quick?" Hilary asked and Derek said yes. Bella sat with Chloe and the grownups went outside.

"Is everything okay?" Derek asked.

"Yes it's just... she's scared to go home. She's scared they know where she lives and they'll go back for her" Hilary said. "I don't know what to do" she said with tears in her eyes.

"Why don't you guys stay here for some time? We have enough space and she'll see that it's over now" Derek said.

"Are you sure that's okay? You guys already deal with so much, I don't want to be a problem" Hilary said.

"Hilary you're no problem. We'll be happy to have you here. And that will be good for the girls. All three of them" Derek said. "So you're staying" he smiled.

"Thank you" Hilary said. "Really thank you. For everything" she said and they hugged.

Derek smiled and they went back in the room and told the girls. Chloe was relieved and Bella was happy to have her friend there for some time.

"Well, Bella" Derek said and Bella looked at him. "Since they are staying... do you want to tell them the news?"

Bella smiled and whispered "he's going to propose"

Hilary's and Chloe's eyes widened and they smiled.  
"Right now?" Hilary asked.

"Yes. What do you think?" Derek asked.

"Go for it! What are you waiting for!? Come on" Hilary said and they went back to the living room.  
Hilary sat with Chloe on the couch and Bella stayed up next to them. Derek said hello to Will and checked if everyone was in there, once he saw they were he walked to the middle of the living room and said "may I have the word?"

Everyone laughed at him and turned to see what was going on. Emily was standing next to JJ and Penelope and she said "what the heck are doing?" when she saw he wanted to talk.

"Shush" Bella said.

Emily looked at her like " _did this kid just shushed me"_ but she stayed quiet and Derek started talking.

"I am really happy we are all together here tonight" Derek started.  
"Well... a few years ago when I joined this team I had no idea that I would find my family. And what a crazy family this is. You think you know a person well and then out of nowhere you find out that she has a 10 year-old daughter" he said and everyone laughed.

"I don't think we really believed her when she first told us" he said. Emily and Bella looked at each other and smiled.

"A lot of things happened since that day we went to Seattle in a hurry and met that little one right there. I mean a LOT of things." He said and they laughed again.  
"Somehow a 10 year-old brought something good in all of us. She basically turned Rossi into a grandparent, Penelope is like the best godmother this world has ever known. Reid now hugs people more and he even picks her up. That skinny kid carries another kid around like her life depends on it. It's amazing." He said and everyone laughed even Reid.

"JJ got a new kid to love _and_ babysit her son. And the craziest thing is that she makes Hotch smile. Can you believe that?"

Everyone laughed.

"With Bella being here she allowed her mother to show us a side of her that we had never seen. We learned so much from the mother who made so many sacrifices so her daughter would have a chance. We saw how one person can change the lives of many. I have to admit that I didn't know you could have such a big amount of love from something so small. She made me a better man and she gave me a tittle I never thought I'd have." He said with tears in his eyes. When he looked at Bella she was trying hard to keep her tears in.

"This kid" he said and signed for her to go to him. Bella walked and he threw one arm around her and she wiped a tear that escaped.

"This kid has brought every single person in this room together. We've been through so much together. So many shitty stuff and bad and hard times like earlier today but so many amazing amazing things. And when I think about the future I can't think of anything else than having all of you by my side. I can't think of a future where there's not an Emily Prentiss in it. So tonight I'd like.." he said and took the box out.

Everyone in the room were so surprised. Emily's eyes widened and she didn't know what to do or say, she wasn't even sure if she knew how breathe.

"I'd like to make that future real." Derek said. He grabbed Isabella's hand and walked to Emily, making the small girl stand next to him.

"You make me a better me. You're everything I want in my life and with your daughter's approval, _our_ daughter's approval. I'd like to ask you Emily Prentiss..." he said as he got down on one knee.

"...will you marry me?"


	94. Chapter 94: A Bright Future

"...with your daughter's approval, _our_ daughter's approval. I'd like to ask you Emily Prentiss..." he said as he got down on one knee.

"...Will you marry me?" He asked with the opened box in hands.

The entire room went silent. Everyone waited anxiously for the answer.

Emily was speechless for a while.  
She took a deep breath and in that moment the world seemed to have stopped. She also couldn't imagine her life without him there. She had never felt like that, she had never thought of marrying someone or made plans of a long future with someone but her special someone was right there and there was only one thing to say.

"Yes" Emily smiled. "Yes" she laughed.

Everyone cheered. Penelope and Hilary were crying and everyone in that room was smiling.

Derek got up and hugged Emily. He placed the ring on Her finger and kissed her lips. Then he let go and picked Bella up and hugged Emily again. Isabella had so many tears streaming down her face, she was so happy she didn't even care to wipe them.

"You approve?" Emily asked her.

"A thousand percent yes!" Bella said and everyone laughed. Derek put her down and kissed Emily again.

Suddenly the pizza arrived.

"The food is here" Chloe told her mom and everyone laughed. JJ and Will went to the door.

"you're getting married!" Bella said and hugged her mother. Everyone laughed.

"Congrats" Rossi told Derek as Penelope ran and hugged Emily.

"Finally a wedding!" Penelope cheered and everyone laughed. Everyone was so happy.  
Happy that Chloe was home safe and happy the couple had engaged. Isabella was all smiles the entire night. They watched movies and ate pizza and candy. Everyone had a great time. Around 11, people started to leave. Hilary felt a little bad about staying there since they had just got engaged so she asked Derek if he was sure about it. He had already explained the situation to Emily and both insisted that she stayed. So at around midnight Hilary went upstairs with her girls so they could get ready for bed and left Derek, Emily and Bella alone in the living room.

"Hey! come here" Emily said and Bella got up from the floor and sat on her mother's lap. "Are you okay?" Emily asked.

Bella nodded.

"Still a little scared about what happened to Chloe?" Derek asked.

"Yeah... I guess." Bella said. "But I'm okay. I'll be okay. And I'm really happy you'll get married" she said and suddenly her eyes filled with tears.

"Why the tears baby?" Emily asked as Bella hid on her.

"I don't know, I'm just happy" Bella cried.

"So these are happy tears?" Derek asked.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Sit up" Emily said and Bella did as told. "We love you" Emily said and wiped Bella's face.

"And you know what else I love?" Derek asked.

"What?" Bella said.

"That amazing chocolate ice cream that is on the fridge." He said with a smile and asked "who's with me?"

"I am" Bella smiled. He picked her up from Emily's lap.

"Why not?" Emily smiled and they went to the kitchen. Derek placed Bella down and they sat to eat together, just the three of them.

"Happy proposal day... or whatever you call this" Bella said holding her bowl of ice cream up so they could make toast.

Derek and Emily laughed and said in unison "happy proposal day" and they clicked their bowls. Then Derek kissed Emily and Bella just watched with a smile. They ate and then went to get ready for bed. Emily talked to Hilary and they decided that Hilary and Chloe would stay in the guest bedroom and Millie would stay with Bella. So everyone got ready and went to bed. Millie fell asleep really quick so Emily tucked Bella in and Hilary kissed Millie goodnight.

"Anything we're right next door" Emily told Bella who nodded. "I love you" Emily said and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too" Bella said and the grownups went out of the room.

"If you need anything feel free to knock and get me" Emily told Hilary.

"Thank you... for everything" Hilary said and Emily hugged her.

"Go enjoy your girl" Emily smiled and they headed to bed.

Prentiss met Derek in their bedroom.  
"Everything okay?" He asked.

"More than okay" Emily smiled and kissed him. They laid down on the bed and Emily cuddled up to Morgan.  
"I love you" she said.

"I love you too, future Mrs. Morgan" Derek said and Emily laughed. They kissed again and soon decided to sleep.  
It sure had been a long day.

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The next morning they had the day off so the kids missed school and had a lazy day at the house. In the afternoon, Hilary offered to watch Bella so Derek and Emily could go out alone to celebrate their engagement so around 7, they went out for dinner and after that Derek surprised Emily with a stay in a fancy hotel. They had an absolutely amazing night.

.

The next morning was a Wednesday and sadly they had to go back to work. Hilary called them around 7:30 in the morning to ask if it was okay for Bella to miss school again. She explained that Chloe was still shaken up and that she had talked to Bella almost all night about it so they didn't really sleep well. Of course Emily agreed and the kids missed school again. They watched movies and talked and Bella was glad Chloe trusted her but she felt more scared when Chloe talked about what happened. Even though she didn't like it, she decided to be brave and just be there for her friend. So whenever Chloe wanted to talk Bella was there to listen.

Emily and Derek got home around 6 and brought Mexican food for everyone. Bella asked about the dinner they had the day before and told them she had a lot of fun at home. Later at night everyone got ready for bed. Before tucking Bella in, Derek asked if she could stop by his room for a little while. So she followed him there. Emily signed and Bella went to her lap.

"Bella, since I gave a ring to your mom, I felt like it was fitting that you got something special too" Derek said and handed her a box.

Bella opened it and found a gold necklace inside. It had a moon, a heart, and a star, just like her beloved bracelet.  
The day before during dinner Derek told Emily that he wanted to get Bella something special like the bracelet and when Emily told him what it meant he couldn't think of anything more perfect to give to the girl.

"You know what they mean, right?" Derek asked and Isabella nodded with tears in her eyes. "And that's from me to you" Derek said.

"Thank you" Bella said and started crying.  
She knew exactly what they meant and she couldn't hold her tears. Just like her bracelet, that she never took off since her mom gave her, she knew the moon meant that he would always be there even if she couldn't see him all the time, the star meant she was his little star and the heart meant that he would love her no matter what.

Derek picked her up and she cried into his neck.  
"Do you like it?" He asked.

"Yes I love it, dad" Bella cried and Morgan held her tight.

"Why don't you stay here with us tonight, huh?" Emily asked.

"Can I?" Bella asked and looked at Morgan.

"Of course you can" he smiled and put her down next to Emily. Emily hugged the girl tight as Derek went out to let Hilary know.  
Later He walked back in the room to find Bella cuddling up to her mom as Emily wrapped one arm tight around her. Derek put the box on the nightstand and then laid down and threw his arm over both of them.

"I love you... both" Bella said.

"We love you too" they told her.

"Always" Emily said.

"I can't believe my mom _and_ my dad are getting married! Jeremy is going to be so happy for me" Bella said and Emily smiled. She knew her daughter's half brother would be beyond excited that there was a wedding happening soon.

Emily hugged her tight and said goodnight.

"Goodnight" Bella said and hid her face on her mother's stomach.

"Goodnight, my girls" Derek said and Emily and Bella laughed.


	95. Chapter 95: Finally Ready

_**Two weeks had gone by**_.  
Hilary stayed at Emily's house for a week and then Chloe said she was ready to go home. The kids went back to school and work was going great.  
That Monday morning, Bella had a great time at school and when the clock hit 3:30 she walked outside happy to find Emily waiting for her.

"How was school today?" Emily asked giving Bella a hug.

"Good" Bella smiled.

They headed to the car and Emily drove to the BAU. When they got there JJ told Emily they had a case.

"Go sit on my desk and work on your homework. I won't be long" Emily told Bella and the girl did as told.

Emily went to the conference room and Bella watched from the bullpen. She saw everyone looked very serious and there was a woman crying while talking to her mother. Derek looked at Bella and she quickly looked at her book and started her homework.  
After some time Emily walked there and Bella asked what happened.

"The team is going to New York" Emily said.

"And what happened to her?" Bella asked pointing to the woman who was walking inside Hotch's office.

"Her brother is missing. He was taken in the same way two other man was so NYPD thinks it's connected" Emily explained.

"Oh" Bella said feeling bad for the lady.

Derek walked in and kissed Emily.  
"I'll see you guys soon" he told them and walked to the door.

Bella looked at Hotch's window and saw the woman crying. She thought for a moment and said "mom"

Emily looked at her.

"You can go" Bella said.

"What?" Emily asked confused.

"You can go help." Bella said serious.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked as she noticed Bella did seem nervous.

"Help her brother like you helped Chloe. He needs you" Bella said.

Emily hugged the girl. She felt glad Bella understood but she was torn if she should go or not.  
"Bella, it's okay. I don't have to-" Emily started but Bella cut her off.

"Mom I know you. I know how much you hate staying here while everyone is out there. I wasn't ready before but you saved Chloe and everyone felt so good and I want you to help other people too. Like her... she just wants him home" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Emily asked.

Bella took a deep breath and nodded.  
"You can go. Just be safe and do your best to bring him home" the girl said.

"Okay" Emily said and took a deep breath. "Stay with Garcia and anything just call me"

"Okay" Bella said.

Emily hugged the small girl again. "I love you"

"I love you too" Bella said. "Be safe"

Emily smiled proud and went talk to Penelope. She found JJ there. She explained everything and went to the parking lot with JJ to find the rest of team.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked Emily. "You're coming with us?" He asked when he saw her go bag.

"She's ready" Emily said.

"Please don't get hurt on your first day back" Derek smiled and everyone smiled too, glad to have Prentiss with them.

The team headed to NYC and the case went well. It took three days but They were able to save two people including that woman's brother.  
Isabella stayed with Garcia and she was impressed that she didn't feel as nervous and scared as she thought she would. She was worried but she wasn't terrified like before. Penelope was happy to see the kid was okay with the situation and she made sure to help by keeping her occupied.

On Wednesday when the team arrived Bella smiled big as she watched that lady hug her brother tight.

"You did it" she ran and told her mom. Emily hugged her tight.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked.

"Yes. I'm fine" Bella said.

Emily smiled.

"Ready to go home?" Derek asked.

"Yup" Bella said making a tired face.

Soon they were at home enjoying the family life.

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 _ **A month went by**_ and the team traveled on three cases. Emily went with them every single time and Isabella seemed okay with that. Emily always asked the girl first and Bella would tell her to be safe a million times but never asked her to stay. After what happened to Chloe, Isabella knew how Emily helped people and she wanted her to help. She knew Derek would protect her and they'd be okay. She trusted them.

That Wednesday morning, Derek went to wake Bella up and he noticed the girl was a bit warm.  
"Oh no" Derek said feeling bad. He went to the bathroom and got a thermometer. He checked Bella and the girl had a fever. So He went and told Emily.

"Bella has a fever." He said.

"Wake her up and see if she's feeling anything else. Maybe just some medicine will help" Emily said as she got dressed.

Derek went back to the girl's room and woke her up.  
"Bella. Princess wake up" he said running his hand on her back and she slowly opened her eyes. "Good morning" Derek said.

"Morning" Bella said. She felt her head hurting so she closed her eyes again.

"Everything okay?" Derek asked.

"My head hurts" Bella said as she took her hand to her forehead.

"Come here. Let's go see your mama" Derek said and picked Bella up. She rested on his shoulder and couldn't help but feel awful.

Derek carried the girl to his bedroom and Emily was combing her hair.

"She's not feeling well?" Emily asked rushing to the girl. She put her hand on Bella's forehead and said "she's burning up"

"I don't feel so good" Bella said sounding upset.

"What exactly are you feeling?" Emily asked.

"My head hurts" Bella said.

"Just your head? Nothing else?" Emily asked scared it was pneumonia again.

"No" Bella said.

"Okay. That's good" Emily said tucking a lock of hair behind Bella's ear. "Let's get you some medicine and you can come to work with us" Emily said. "Okay?"

"Okay" Bella mumbled.

Derek carried Bella downstairs and sat in the living room with her. She really didn't look okay. Emily walked in with some medicine.

"Here take this" Emily said and gave the medicine to Bella. "Derek do you want some coffee?" Emily asked.

"Yes please" he said and Emily went to get it. She took some coffee to him and sat to drink hers.

"Bella, are you sure just your head hurts?" Emily asked.

"I'm sure" Bella said.

"Okay." Emily said. "Derek, I'm gonna get her jacket so we can leave" She said and headed upstairs. She grabbed a jacket, Bella's red rain boots and the girl's iPad.

"Let's go?" Emily said when she got to the first floor. Derek got up and carried Bella to the car and they headed to work. When they got there, Emily put Bella's boot and jacket on and Derek carried the girl inside. She was very sleepy because of the medicine.  
When they walked out of the elevator JJ was there.

"Hi. Is she okay?" JJ asked worried, when she saw the girl all bundled up and still in pajamas.

"She's not feeling very well" Emily said.

"I'm gonna take her to my office" Morgan said and headed there.

"What happened?" JJ asked Emily.

"She woke up with a fever and her head hurts." Emily said. "She looks pretty bad."

JJ nodded.

Garcia suddenly arrived.  
"My lovely women, we have a case" she said.

JJ followed Penelope and Emily went to get Morgan. She walked in the office and he was sitting on the couch with Bella in his arms. Emily hated seeing her daughter sick.

"We have a case" Emily said.

Bella looked at Morgan and said "dad, can you stay just this time?"

Derek looked at Emily surprised.

"You don't want _me_ to stay?" Emily asked walking to them.

"I think I want dad this time." Bella said.

Emily gave Derek a sad smile and He said "of course I'll stay with you. Let me just talk to Hotch"

Bella nodded. Derek laid her down on the couch.

"I'll be right back princess" he said and went to the conference room with Emily.

"Are you sure you want to stay? I don't mind doing that Derek" Emily told him.

"I got it. I'm gonna take her home, we'll watch a movie. She'll be okay" Derek said and Emily agreed.

Derek told Hotch Bella was sick and he needed the day off. Hotch agreed so Derek went back to his office and told the girl. They said goodbye to Emily and Derek took her home.  
They spent the day in the living room, Bella slept most of the time and Derek watched tv and did some paper work. Her fever wasn't going down and that was worrying him. Around 9, he made some soup and convinced her to eat some. After dinner she showered and asked Derek to stay with her so they laid in her bedroom and she snuggled up to him and held her blanket tight. Lulu and Sergio laid at the end of the bed at their feet.

"you'll feel better soon" Derek told her as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Bella feel asleep quickly and Derek called Emily to give her news. They talked about the girl and the case and then decided it was time to sleep.

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The next morning, Derek woke Bella up and was happy to know she was feeling a bit better.

"Do you feel well enough to go to the office today or would you like to stay home again?" He asked her.

"Can we stay?" She asked hopeful.

"Of course we can" Derek said and she hugged him.

As the day went on, Isabella's color came back and her head wasn't hurting so bad anymore. She only had a fever in the morning which Derek felt relieved. Around 4pm, Emily arrived at home and was glad to see the girl was almost all better.

The next day, Bella woke up feeling pretty good so she said she wanted to go to school. She missed her friends and she had choir practice. So Emily drove her to school.

On the car ride there Bella asked when Emily and Derek was going to get married.

"We haven't picked out a date yet but it will be this year" Emily smiled.

"Good!" Bella smiled back. "I can't wait" the girl said excited.


	96. Chapter 96: Twins

_**A month went by**_ _**fast**_ and Emily and Derek were happy about how things were going. They were really used to living together and Isabella loved seeing her parents so happy. Emily decided to go back on the field and Derek didn't really agree at first but soon saw it was really what she wanted to do so he just told her she had to be extra careful because they had a child at home that definitely had gone through too much.  
Isabella was fine with that now and she loved spending time with Garcia or Hilary whenever Derek and Emily were out of town.  
Things were really going great.

That Tuesday morning, Emily and Derek dropped Bella off at school and went to work. Luckily they didn't have a case that day. They sat to work on some paperwork and Emily's phone rang when she was halfway through a pile of case files.

"Hello, this is Emily" she said not recognizing the number.

"Hi. It's Jeremy" Bella's half-brother said.

"Oh hi. How's everything?" Emily smiled.

"It's good. Really good actually. We just arrived in the hospital and Marley is in labor" he smiled.

"Really?" Emily said.

"Yeah. It's insane" he laughed. "I was wondering if you could bring Bella. We want her to be here for this" he said.

"Oh of course I will" Emily smiled knowing her daughter would be so happy to go.

"How fast is everything progressing?" Emily asked.

"Not so fast. You'll definitely make it if you leave D.C. now"

"And I will" Emily said standing up and grabbing her bag.

"Alright. Thank you" Jeremy smiled.

"I'll see you soon" Emily said and they hung up. Emily looked at Derek and all her friends were waiting for an explanation to why she looked so jolly. She let out a laugh and said "I'm heading to Seattle. Marley is in labor" and the entire team cheered.

Emily got her things and turned to Morgan "are you coming?" She asked him.

He looked at Hotch.

"Go" Aaron smiled.

Derek got his stuff and they headed to the car. Emily told him to stop by the house first so he did that and they packed a few clothes for them and for Bella. Then they headed to the girl's school.

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It was 10:34am when the principal's secretary arrived in Isabella's classroom and said her parents were there to pick her up. Bella froze and suddenly felt sick. She couldn't help but think something bad happened because why would they go pick her up that early if nothing was wrong.  
She followed the secretary out and soon spotted them.

"What happened?" She asked clearly worried.

"Calm down baby girl. There's absolutely nothing wrong" Derek said.

"Why are you picking me up this early then?" The girl asked.

"Well..." Emily smiled. "Marley is in labor" she said and Bella's jaw dropped.

"She is? Really?!"

"Yes. And they want you to be there for this so let's go?!" Emily smiled and Bella hugged her.

"Oh my god! I'm gonna be an aunt" she smiled and they headed to the car. Bella was so happy. As they drove to the airport she couldn't help but remember how her brother surprised her at Christmas with the news that Marley was pregnant with twins. She was just so excited to meet them.

Soon they parked at the airport, got their tickets and sat to wait. Almost an hour later they boarded the plane. Bella sat with Emily and Derek sat on the other side close to them. The girl was all smiles the entire flight. She was so excited.  
When they arrived they rented a car at the airport and headed to the hospital.

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"Look who's here!" Callie said when she saw Bella walking in the hospital. The small girl let go of her mother's hand and ran to Callie. She missed her so much.

"How's D.C.?" Callie asked.

"Good" Bella smiled and let go of the hug.

"I heard there will be a wedding soon" Callie smiled at Emily and Emily blushed.

"Yeah" Emily said.

"Where's uncle Shepherd?" Bella asked.

"You mean that one?" Callie asked pointing somewhere. Bella looked and saw Shepherd and Meredith walking to them. The girl ran to him and he lifted her up.

"Oh I missed you so much!" He said.

"I missed you too" Bella said and Shepherd put her down.

"Hi" she said and hugged Meredith. "Where's my brother?" She asked with a smile.

"You're gonna be the best aunt" Callie said and everyone laughed.

They went to the labor and delivery ward and Bella hugged Jeremy really tight.

"How are you feeling you soon to be Dad?" She said and everyone laughed.

"Nervous" Jeremy said and hugged her again. "I'm glad you made it. We don't think this will take much longer" he said.

Bella walked to the bed and Marley grabbed her hand.

"This hurts like hell" Marley said between her teeth and Bella laughed.

"I bet" Bella said. "And you have to push two out" she added and everyone laughed.

"You young lady must hold my hand the entire time. Do you understand?" Marley said.

"Yes" Bella smiled.

Derek and Emily said hello to everyone and decided to give them some privacy and wait outside so they went to the waiting room with Callie, Shepherd, Meredith and some other doctors that luckily weren't working that day.

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Bella had been waiting for almost an hour when a nurse finally said "It's time".

"Oh god. I'm not ready. I'm not ready. There's two of them. I can't do it" Marley panicked.

"Yes you can. You're gonna be okay." Isabella said and grabbed her hand.

They prepped everything and soon it was time to push.

"Come on, Marley. You've got this. Push" the Doctor said.  
Marley took a deep breath and pushed hard.  
"Good job. Keep going"

"Good job babe" Jeremy told her.

"Deep breath now" the Doctor said and they took a little break. "I can see the head"

Jeremy looked and his eyes filled with tears. He couldn't believe he was about to become a father.

"Push" the Doctor said and Marley did so.  
Suddenly a cry filled the room.

"It's a boy" the Doctor said. Marley and Jeremy cried as he hugged her. Bella smiled big.

"Oh my god. Look at him" Bella said with tears streaming down her face.

The Doctor put the baby on Marley's chest and she kissed him.  
"Hi" Marley smiled.

"Hi buddy" Jeremy said holding his boy's hand.

"Alright Marley. We need to get the other one out. Are you ready?" The nurse said.

"Yes" Marley said desperately wanting to meet the second baby.  
A nurse took the boy to get checked and Marley began pushing.  
Soon again another loud cry filled the room.

"Oh my god! It's a girl" Jeremy smiled when he saw. "We got a girl too" he smiled at Marley. The nurse put the girl on Marley's chest and she let out a deep breath. They were both okay and beautiful.

"How are you doing in there Auntie Bella?" Jeremy asked his sister who was still crying.

"They are so cute" Bella smiled.

A nurse took the baby away to get checked and the doctor finished everything she had to do. About 30 minutes later they gave the babies back to Marley. She held them both and was so amazed by them.

"They're perfect" Marley smiled.

"I always knew you guys would make beautiful babies" Bella said and they laughed.

"Do you want to hold one?" Marley asked the girl.

Bella nodded.

"Let's sit down" Jeremy said. Bella sat down on a couch in the room and Jeremy took the girl to her. Bella knew exactly what to do and held her niece proudly.

"Hi baby girl" Bella said. The baby stared at her.

"She likes you" Jeremy smiled. Bella looked up at him and smiled back.  
"Do you want to know her name?" He asked.

"Yes" Bella said.

Jeremy looked at Marley and Marley nodded giving him the go.  
"Elise Isabella Marshall" he said.

"Really?" Bella asked with tears in her eyes.

"Really" Jeremy said and sat next to her. "I hope she'll be at least half amazing and wonderful as you are"

"She'll be so much more. I'll make sure of that" Bella said and Jeremy hugged her.

"I love you" Jeremy said.

"I love you too" Bella smiled.

"What's the boy's name?" Bella asked.

Again Jeremy looked at Marley and this time Marley said "John Connor Marshall"

Bella smiled as tears jumped from her eyes. "You're naming him after dad?" She asked.

"Yes" Jeremy said and hugged her again. John was after their father and Connor was after Marley's father.

Soon Bella let go of the hug and said "he would've been so proud of you Jeremy"

Jeremy nodded with tears rolling dow his face too. "He's proud of both of us. I'm sure of that."

Bella smiled.

"Wanna trade?" Marley asked and Jeremy went and took little John. He picked his daughter up and gave John to Bella.

"Hi" Bella smiled and the boy stared at her. "Hi John" she smiled.

"Can I bring everyone in?" Jeremy asked Marley.

"Of course" Marley smiled.

Jeremy went to the waiting room.

"They're here" he announced and everyone smiled. "Both healthy and ..." he said as his eyes filled with tears again. Emily went and hugged him.

"Congratulations" she said.

"Boys or girls?" Shepherd asked.

"A boy and a girl" Jeremy smiled and everyone cheered. They went to the room and everybody couldn't stop smiling, the babies were adorable.

Emily sat next to Bella and wiped her daughter tear stained face.  
"Are you alright?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella smiled and Emily smiled back.  
"His name is John, mom" Bella said and everyone heard and smiled.

"How about the girl?" Derek Morgan asked.

"Elise" Marley said.

"Elise Isabella Marshall" Jeremy said and everyone looked at Bella.

"She looks like an Elise to me" Bella said staring at the little baby girl and everyone laughed.

They hung out in the room for a while and then a nurse walked in and said there were too many people in there so everyone left but Morgan, Emily and Bella, and of course the parents. They stayed there for about an hour and then Emily suggested going to a hotel so Jeremy and Marley could have some time alone with the babies.

"Take care of my niece and nephew" Bella told Jeremy.

"Of course I will" he smiled and hugged her goodbye.

Derek, Emily and Bella went to a hotel and ordered some room service, while they ate Bella went on and on about how the birth went and how cute they were and how happy she was.

"I already love them so much" Bella said and Derek and Emily smiled happy to see their girl so excited like that.  
They spent the night in the hotel and Bella texted Jeremy about 7 times to check on them.  
The next morning the girl woke up early, showered, got dressed and told Emily she wanted to stop by the hospital with breakfast for them. So Emily and Derek got ready quickly and they went. They stopped at Denny's and soon were at the hospital.

"Oh my god. Real food" Marley said looking very thankful.

Marley handed Elise to Bella and she went and sat on the couch next to Derek. They talked and hung out and just enjoyed the little ones.

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Marley stayed at the hospital for two more days and every morning and afternoon Bella insisted on taking some food to them. They hung out with them a lot and Isabella already loved those kids so much. She loved spending time with them and the other doctors at the hospital, she even had lunch with her uncle Shepherd once. She missed everyone so much.  
On the day Marley got discharged Bella insisted on getting them snacks and food for the upcoming days so that morning she went with Emily and Derek to Walmart and bought a bunch of things and took to Jeremy's house. They waited there for the couple to take the kids home. When they arrived Jeremy was very thankful that they were there and for everything they had done.

"Thank you so much for everything" Jeremy said.

"Any time" Bella smiled and ran to the kids nursery and everyone laughed.

"So do you really need to go back today?" Jeremy asked Emily.

"We do. She has school and we need to work" Emily explained.

"Well, I expect her to come visit soon" he smiled.

"I'm sure she'll want to babysit them" Emily smiled.

They spent the afternoon at Jeremy's house and left at 4:45.

"Send me pictures every day. Okay?! Everyday!" Bella said.

"I promise I will" Jeremy smiled and hugged her. Bella hugged Marley and kissed the babies.

"And you two be good for your parents" she whispered to them.

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The flight back to D.C. was great and soon they were back at home. Bella went straight to her bedroom and texted Jeremy saying that they arrived. He sent her a picture of the twins. Bella smiled and didn't even notice Emily staring at her from the door.

"Hey" Emily smiled and Bella looked up and smiled. "I think it's time for bed" Emily told her.

"I'm gonna shower, okay?" Bella said.

"Of course" Emily smiled and left the room. Bella sent all the picture she took of the babies to Penelope and went to the bathroom to shower. She showered quickly and got ready for bed. Emily tucked her in and she fell asleep really fast.

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Emily walked in her bedroom to find Morgan sitting on the bed checking his phone. He looked worried.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"Do you know what day is tomorrow?" He asked.

"What?" Emily said confused but still worried.

"It's been a year since John passed away" Derek said and Emily's heart sank. Her eyes filled with tears and Derek got up and walked to her.

"She's been so happy these last few days. I just..." Emily said feeling bad. Derek hugged her and they sat on the bed.

"It will be hard but she'll be okay" he said. "We're gonna be right here with her" Derek said and Emily nodded. They laid down together and Emily couldn't help but feel scared.  
She had tucked in such a happy girl that night and now she had no idea how Bella would be like the next day.

"She'll be okay" Morgan said. Emily closed her eyes and relaxed on his embrace. She didn't want to think about the next day. She closed her eyes and focused on Morgan's embrace and breathing and soon she fell asleep. Derek saw she was out so he pulled the covers up and decided to try to sleep too. He knew the next day would probably be hard. He just hoped Bella would be okay.


	97. Chapter 97: One Year

The next day, Derek and Emily woke up with the alarm clock ringing loudly. Morgan made it stop and wrapped his arms around the brunette and kissed her forehead.

"Good morning" he smiled and Emily smiled back.  
Soon they were making their way down to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Bells" Emily said when she spotted the girl getting some orange juice out of the fridge.

"Morning" Bella said and Emily hugged her.

As they ate breakfast Morgan and Emily noticed that Isabella was totally fine and seemed just as happy as she was the day before. They exchanged some looks as Bella went on and on about her niece and nephew. Once the girl was done eating Emily told her to get her things so they could go. Bella quickly went upstairs.

"I don't think she knows what day it is yet" Emily said.

"Either that or she's playing tough" Derek said.

Emily gave him a look and said "I don't think she is, Derek"

"Should we tell her?" He asked.

"Not right now." Emily said. "I don't think she'll leave the house if we tell her"

"Em, I don't think she's like that anymore" he said.

"Somethings never change and believe me when I say that the moment she finds out she'll be a mess" Emily said. "She doesn't talk about it and I know that she misses him so much and she's hurt about the whole thing"

"We can tell her when we pick her up from school then" Derek suggested.

"Yeah. We can take the afternoon off and just stay at home with her" Emily said and Derek agreed.

Suddenly Bella walked in.

"Are you ready?" The small brunette asked. Emily and Derek smiled and they headed out the door.

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"Be safe. I love you" Bella told her mother and Derek once they parked in front of the school.

"You too" Emily smiled as the girl gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

Bella was about to walk out of the car when Derek said "you forgot me". The girl giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Bye. Love you" the 11 year-old said and ran out to meet her friends.

"I just hate this." Emily breathed out. "She's like a bomb today and we're just waiting for her to blow up"

Morgan held her hand. "We'll be here for her when she does." He said and started driving to the BAU.

At the school, Bella met Chloe and Gavin at the entrance and they said their other friends were in their classroom helping the teacher. So they headed inside. Bella sat in front of Chloe and turned to talk to her friend. Mazzy and Gavin soon joined and they talked for about 25 minutes while the teacher organized a projector and a few other things for the class.

"Good morning Class" the teacher said and everyone turned to face him and pay attention.  
"Today we are watching a movie" he announced and the kids cheered. "It's a documentary and I think it will help you guys understand a little bit better and get ready for our test" he said.

"Finally" Gavin told Bella. It had been a while since the last time they watched a movie in class.

"I'd like you to write a few things down before we start" the teacher said and went to write something on the board. Isabella got her things to write and copied what the teacher wrote. Once done she turned to Gavin and asked "what day is today?" and once Gavin told her it was like she was frozen. She just sat there and didn't say anything or move. She couldn't believe she had forgotten. She couldn't believe it had been a year already and she just missed him the same. She felt like she was about to explode as her heart started racing.

"Bella, are you okay?" Gavin asked. "Bella! What's wrong?" He asked now worried and Bella _unfroze._

"What?" She said.

"Are you okay? What's the matter?" He asked.

She felt like she wanted to say she was fine but she couldn't make up the words. She panicked and got up. She walked to the teacher and said "water". The man was a bit confused but agreed so the girl went outside.  
Isabella went to the bathroom as fast as she could. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Emily's number.

.

At the BAU, Morgan and Prentiss arrived to find the team at the bullpen. JJ spotted them and ran to Emily.

"How are the babies?" She asked excited.

Emily went on and on about how the trip went and how happy Bella was and how cute the babies were. She showed everyone some pictures and they were all smiling and awing over the twins. Conversation was going light and happy till Emily's phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and turned and showed it to Derek.  
He gave her a sad smiled when he saw the word " _Bella_ " and a picture of a smiling girl on the screen.

"Hello?" Emily said.

"Mom" came Isabella's crying voice.

Emily let out a deep breath just knowing and feeling bad for the girl.  
"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I just want you" Bella cried.

"I'll be right there" Emily said. "Get your things and go find Carrie. Tell her I'm on my way" Emily added. Carrie was the principal's secretary.

"Okay" Bella said.

"I'll be right there, Bells" Emily said again and hung up. She got her bag and said "I need to go get her"

"What happened?" JJ asked confused.

"Is she getting bullied again?" Rossi asked.

"No it's..." Emily started but Spencer cut her off.

"John" Spencer said and everyone turned to him. "It's a year today"

Everyone's heart broke for the girl. They knew how hard those things could be.

Emily gave her team a sad smile and turned to Morgan. "Are you coming?" She asked.

"Of course" he said and they headed to the elevator.

.

At school, Isabella went to the principal's office to find Carrie. She told the secretary her mom was going to pick her up because she was feeling sick. The woman told her to take a seat to wait while she got her bag. Carrie left and soon returned with Bella's backpack.

"Your friend Chloe packed everything for you" Carrie said.

"Thank you" Bella told her.

The woman gave her a sad smile, the kid didn't look good at all.

Bella waited and soon Emily and Derek arrived. When Bella saw them at the door she got up and walked to them keeping her head down. She got to her mom and Emily grabbed her hand. Bella was trying hard not to explode. They walked outside and Morgan grabbed her bag.

"Let me carry this for you" he said and she handed it to him.

She made the mistake to look up and when she saw his face she couldn't help it and tears stared rolling again. Emily quickly jumped into action and wrapped the girl in her arms. Bella sobbed as Emily stared at Morgan unsure of what to do.  
They stood there for a while and then Derek signed the car so Emily let go of the hug and they walked to the car. Bella got in and laid down facing the seat and the whole way home she didn't say a word. She felt like she just wanted to disappear and cry and not talk to anybody.  
Derek and Emily knew she needed some space so they let her be. Soon they parked the car at home. Bella got out and went to the door. Once Emily opened it the girl ran upstairs dropping her bag at the beginning of the stairs. Emily was about to run after her but Derek grabbed her arm.

"Let her" he said and Emily took a step back. "Let her deal with it for a while. We'll be here if she needs us" he said and they went to sit on the couch.

Upstairs Bella walked in her room to find Lulu laying on her bed. She jumped on the bed and hugged the dog tight and just cried. She just let it out. It took about 15 minutes for her to calm down and another 10 for her to stop crying. She got up, washed her face and went downstairs. She walked in the living room and Emily was resting on Morgan.

"Mom" Bella said really low. Emily heard and turned to face her. What she saw broke her heart. The child was so pale, her eyes were red and Emily could see new tears forming in them.

"Come here" Emily said. Bella walked to them and Morgan scoot over so she could fit between them. She sat down and suddenly tears started streaming again. Emily wrapped the girl in her arms and Bella rested her head on her mother's chest. No one said a word, they just held her and let her cry.

After sometime the room was complete silence and it stayed like that till Bella said "why didn't you tell me this morning?"

Emily took a deep breath and said "I didn't want you to be upset. We were gonna tell you once we picked you up from school"

"You thought I wouldn't remember the date?" Bella asked.

"I wasn't thinking straight honey. I just... I didn't want you to be upset" Emily said.

There was a bit of silence again. Bella was just thinking about it all. Thinking about everything she'd been through in the last year.

"Mom" Bella said. "Can we go to a church or something?" She asked thinking that's what people did on those days.

The question took Emily by surprise. Bella had never shown interest on going to church before. She went a few times with her father, they were Catholics but never really frequented a church.

"Of course" Emily said. If she was being honest she didn't want to go but Bella was asking so she felt like she should take the girl.

"Right now?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. Go get a jacket" Emily said. The small girl let go of her mom and went to her bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Morgan asked when he caught Emily lost in her thoughts.

"What?" Emily said.

"I asked if you were okay?" Derek said.

"I guess" she said.

"Do you want me to take her?"

"No no. I think she needs both of us there" Emily said and Derek nodded.

Suddenly Bella walked back in.  
"I'm done" Bella said.

Emily got up and grabbed her hand and they headed to the car. Instead of going on the front seat Emily got in the back with Bella. The girl buckled up and Emily threw one arm over her shoulder letting the small girl rest on her.  
The car ride was quiet and soon Derek parked in front of a church.  
It was a very cold day and Emily could see Bella was shaking. She wrapped the girl in her arms and they walked to the church. Once inside, Emily let go of Bella and the girl led the way and took a seat on the back. Prentiss and Morgan followed and sat next to her. The child just sat there and looked around. She suddenly rested on Emily and grabbed her hand.

"I don't know what to do" Bella whispered. Emily and Derek just looked confused. "It didn't help" the girl said and looked down.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

Bella's eyes filled with tears. "Uncle Shepherd said once that he fells close to his Dad at church. I thought I..." she said and started crying. Emily wrapped her arms around her and ran circles on her back.

"It doesn't work like that for everyone honey" Emily said. "But no matter where he is he loves you so much. And he knows how much you love him and you miss him. You don't need to come here or go anywhere to feel close to him. He's right here" Emily said and put her hand on Isabella's chest. Bella looked up and her face broke their hearts. They couldn't take seeing her in pain.

"I miss him so much" she said.

Emily hugged her tight again and Bella started sobbing. Emily pulled the girl to her lap and got up. People was starting to look at them to see what was wrong so they left. Emily carried Bella to the car and got on the back with her. Derek drove home and when he parked the car Bella was fast asleep.

"Baby we're home" Emily said and Bella woke up.

They went inside and Bella was about to go upstairs when Emily grabbed her hand. "Come sit with me" she said and they went to the living room. Emily sat on the couch and pulled the small girl to her lap. She held Bella like she usually did and the girl relaxed in her mother's embrace. Emily started soothing her hair and soon Bella feel asleep. Derek called Hotch and took the afternoon off. Then he sat next to them and turned the tv on. Twenty minutes into it and Bella woke up. She got off Emily and sat between them. Morgan grabbed her hand and she looked up at him. She suddenly hugged him tight and Derek and Emily looked surprised. Derek hugged the girl and felt her little body shutter. He pulled her to his lap and just kept hugging her tight. Soon she calmed down and sat up straight.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked.

Bella shook her head no. Derek wiped her face and said "you're gonna be okay"  
She rested on his chest and said "I know"

Emily grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Can you stay home with me today?" Bella asked her mom.

"Of course we can" Emily said with a sad smile.

They spent the rest of the day watching tv in the living room. Bella was very quiet and refused to be away from Emily. Around lunch time, Derek went to the kitchen and made some mac and cheese for them while Bella and Emily snuggled on the couch. The girl barely ate but she didn't feel sick she just didn't feel hungry. In the afternoon, JJ called to check on them and Derek told her what had happened and also that the girl would be okay. JJ suggested stopping by with Henry to cheer her up and keep her mind off of it but Derek thought it would be best not to. He said he wanted her to have some time to deal with her feelings so JJ said she would stop by some other day. For dinner Derek went out and bought ingredients to make hamburgers, he thought that could help a little. When he got back home he told them and they joined him in the kitchen. He fried the meet and Bella and Emily put the rest together. This time Bella ate it all and even laughed at a few jokes Morgan made. Every time she did so Emily smiled at him glad to have him in their lives. After dinner they watched some tv and Soon it was bed time and Emily went to tuck Bella in.

"Sweet dreams monkey" Emily smiled and kissed Bella's forehead. Suddenly Bella grabbed her hand.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" The girl asked with tears in her eyes.

"Of course I can" Emily said with sad smile. Bella moved a bit to the side and Emily laid next to her. She hid on her mother's chest and soon fell asleep. Emily stayed a while longer and then went to talk to Derek.

"I'm gonna stay with her tonight, okay?" She said.

"Sure" Derek said. "Anything go get me" he said and kissed her.

Emily got ready for bed and joined Bella. She wrapped the girl in her arms and soon fell asleep too.

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The next morning Derek woke up and realized they were late. The alarm clock didn't go off. So he ran to wake up Emily. She woke up and then woke Isabella who was rather moody that morning.

"Come on honey. You gotta get ready for school" Emily said.

"No" Bella said and turned to face the other side.

"Bella, I know you're upset. It's okay to be sad and upset but you have to go school you already missed yesterday" Emily said.

"I'm not going!" Bella said between her teeth and hid under the blanket.

Emily got out of the bed and went to her bedroom.  
"She won't get up" Emily told Derek.

"Let me try" he said and headed there. He walked in and she was still hiding. "Hey Bella" he said and sat next to her. She didn't answer so he pulled the blanket off. "Time for school" he said.

She turned around.

"You need to go to school" he said.

Bella thought of being mean and pushing him away by quickly saying something because she was upset and didn't want to go to school but she didn't want to hurt him. So she turned around and said "I don't wanna go" with a normal tone but sounding sad.

Derek saw she was trying hard not to cry.  
"Do you want to stay home with me?" He asked and she nodded letting a few tears falls. Derek pulled her up and hugged her.

"I just don't want to talk to my friends about any of this again" Bella said sounding upset.

"Bella you know you can't miss school like this" Derek said making her look at him.

"I know but it's just today. I promise, Dad" she said and suddenly when she called him Dad she looked down and more tears just fell.

Derek hugged her tight again.

"I know how it feels like and It's okay to be upset. I know you miss him a lot. I know that... but I also know that you need to go on no matter how hard it is." He said and she let go and looked at him with tear filled eyes. He wiped a tear on her right cheek and said "your mom and I will be here for you for whatever you need and we won't let you slip into that little girl who wouldn't leave the house"

"I know... and I don't wanna be like that" Bella said.

"You just need a day off?" Derek smiled.

"Yeah" Bella said.

"Okay" Derek said and hugged her again. She let go and covered herself up with the blanket.  
"You can stay here for another hour but then we're going out. A day off doesn't meant staying home all day" he said.

She nodded and he left the room. He went to his bedroom and Emily was finishing her make up.

"You need to change or we'll be late" Emily said rushing to get something in the closet.

"I'm staying home with her" Derek said.

Emily stoped what she was doing and went back to the the room. "Are you sure this is a good idea? We've been through this before and tomorrow she'll just cry and ask to stay home again. I know she's upset but school is school and it won't help if she just stays home"

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea but I talked to her and I think she just needs a day off" he smiled and walked to Emily.  
"I'll take her to the mall and try to get her mind off of it and then later I'll try to get her talking" Derek said and kissed Emily on the lips.

"Just don't allow her to be rude or mean to you, okay? I don't want her to do that" Emily said.

"I know. Don't worry" Derek said.


	98. Chapter 98: Just Like Mama

Emily quickly finished and headed out the door. At the BAU she told everyone what exactly had happened the previous day and told them Derek was staying home with Bella again. Everyone was very understanding and knew how hard it must be for the little girl. At the BAU the day went great. They didn't have a case and just worked on paperwork nothing much.  
At the Prentiss-Morgan home, Derek tried to get Bella up and running by 8. They had breakfast and headed to the supermarket. Bella wasn't really on the mood for it but she knew she had to go out and just do all the normal things people did and that it would help eventually. So they bought everything they needed and headed back home. Bella helped Morgan put everything away and then they sat to watch some tv. Soon Derek suggested going to the mall for a walk and lunch and that's exactly what they did. They had a great time but Derek noticed that Bella was still quieter than normal. After lunch he asked if she wanted to go somewhere else and she said "can we go to the church again?".  
Different from Emily's, Morgan's mother was very religious and he went to church with her a lot so he gladly took the girl. Bella took the same spot as the previous day and again just sat there for a while. Morgan could tell she was unsure of what to do.

"Do you know how to pray?" He asked her.

"Kinda" Bella said. Her dad, John, had taught her when she was very little but it had been so long since the last time she'd done it.

"Give me your hands" Morgan said and she did so. He took both of her hands and held them tight. "Close your eyes." He said and she did. "Dear lord, thank you for all the blessings in our lives. Please let us be safe and bless our family, our friends and those around us. Amen" he said and then opened his eyes to find Bella still closing hers.  
"You can open your eyes now" he smiled and she opened and looked a bit confused.  
"That's how my mother prays." Derek explained.

"Is that the right way?" Bella asked.

"I don't know if there's a right way to do it." Derek smiled.

"Thank you for bringing me" Bella smiled.  
Derek wrapped her in his arms.  
"Dad" she said and he looked her in the eyes. "Do you need to go a church to pray?" She asked.

"No. You can pray anywhere" he said.

"Will my dad be able to listen?" She asked.

The question took Morgan by surprise.

"He will always be in your heart. You don't have to come here you just have to say. He'll always be with you" Derek said.

Bella looked down and said "I don't understand that"

"Understand what?" He asked.

"How he'll always be here" she said putting her hand on her chest. "He can't be with me. He's not here" Bella said and looked at Derek with tears in her eyes.

Morgan didn't know what to say.

"He can't listen to me, can he?" She asked on the verge of tears.

"I don't know, baby girl. I hope he can. I hope they can hear us" Derek said and Bella hid on his chest.

"I just miss him so much" she said and Morgan hugged her tight.

"I know" he told her. Derek tried hard not to cry. He held Isabella tight and let her calm down before going to the car. They headed home and spent the rest of the day on the couch.  
Emily got home around 6 and brought them dinner. They ate together in the kitchen and then sat to watch tv. Bella soon got ready for bed and cuddled her mom on the couch watching a movie till it was bedtime. Emily went to tuck the girl in and Bella asked her to stay till she was asleep so Emily laid down with her.

"Did you have a good day with Derek?" Emily asked.

"Uhum" Bella said and hid on Emily's chest.

"Why are you hiding?" Emily asked running her fingers through the girl's hair.

"Nothing" Bella said and Emily let it go. She just hugged the girl and kept ruining her fingers through the small girl's hair. Soon Bella fell asleep and Emily headed to find Morgan.

"Did something happen today with her?" She asked.

"Lots of things happened" Derek smiled opening his arms to Prentiss.

"Come on, I'm serious" Emily said with a serious face taking the spot next to him.

"She wanted to go to the church again" he said.

"She did?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yeah. I was surprised too."

"Did you take her?" She asked.

"Yes." Morgan said.

"And...?" Emily said.

"We prayed and then talked a little" he said and Emily just stared waiting for more information. "She's just... learning to deal with the fact that he's really not here anymore."

Emily knew what he meant and she felt bad that he was the one that had to deal with that. "And are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah. It was actually nice talking to her about it" he said. "And I think it helps that I kinda know how it feels"

Emily nodded. "I was thinking... umm maybe we should try taking her to a group therapy. So she can hear other people too" Emily said.

"Do you think she'll open up in there? Cause I honestly don't" Derek said.

"Probably not but we'll never know if we don't try. And if she doesn't talk I think it might help that she'll at least see that she's not alone, she'll see that there are other kids kind of in the same situation" she explained.

"Emily you know that it's not just the John situation, right?" Derek said.

"I know" Emily said serious. "I never wanted to hurt her but I can't deny that I did. And I know that there are things that will be there forever no matter how hard I try to just throw them away. But we need to try. We need to try everything we can to help her learn to deal with all those feelings and... Derek she's 11 now, she's a sweet and loving kid who when is upset just wants to be quiet while her mom and her dad cuddle her and tell her everything will be okay. And I'll do that. I'll gladly do that but She's almost 12 and emotionally she's not even 10. You know that" Emily said and Derek nodded.

"I don't want her to change the way she is with us or with our friends I just want her to be able to deal with her emotions in the way she should be dealing right now. Not how she is, not trying to get away from it and hiding and holding it in till she just bursts." Emily said. "Ive tried everything I could and it's not working" she added.

"But Emily you don't show her how to do that. You know she is exactly like you are. She does exactly what you do" Derek said. "Through this whole Doyle thing I can count in one hand the times I've seen you cry. She pays attention to those things. She sees you as strong and tough and she wants to be like that. She wants to be like you. She always did. You were the one that told me that it scared you how much you two looked and acted alike. So you know that what you're telling me right now applies to you too" he said.

"What do you want me to do? Go to therapy? I'm already doing that" Emily said.

"No. This isn't about therapy. It's about you talking to me... and about her talking to us." Derek said.

"I know it's my fault" Emily said.

"No Em... I'm not saying that." Derek said grabbing her hand.

"It's just... I don't want her to see me crying." Emily said. "When she was little she used to cry a lot whenever I had to leave and I always just wanted to cry too but I never did. Whenever I was upset I didn't allow her see it. And we work with this stuff, we know how these things affect children and I know it affected her but I just didn't want her to see... you know... I didn't want her to see that her mommy wasn't okay" Emily said trying hard not to cry.  
"I was never okay" she told Derek and the tears jumped from her eyes.

"But you are now. She's here with you and you don't need to hide ever again." Derek grabbed her hand.

"Derek I said that leaving for France was the hardest thing I've ever done but... but it wasn't" Emily said and Derek just waited for her to go on.

"I never told anyone this but... The first time I handed her over and walked out of his apartment door I just... i felt like I was never going to see her again. I felt like I was abandoning her... and I did. I just left her there" Emily said and burst into tears. "I did. And now I did that again" she added and just sobbed into Derek's chest.

He was speechless for a moment and just let Emily cry. Suddenly she rested on his chest and started wiping her tears.

"You never abandoned her" Derek told her. "When someone abandons something they don't want to see that ever again and that wasn't your case. You wanted to be with her more than anything. You did everything _everything_ in your power to make sure she would be safe. You did what you had to do, both times." Derek said.  
"Look at me" he said and she looked up in his eyes. "She's here and she's okay. She'll be with us, with you and she will be okay. All of that is the past. Emily... you have a wonderful daughter and everything she's been through make her _her_. She's amazing. Everyone has struggles, everyone is upset sometimes. She's 11 years old, she's a child who needs her parents; a child who knows and has seen things she shouldn't but she did and we can't change that now. What we can do is be here for her and make sure she knows that no matter what we will always be here for her"

Emily wiped her face and nodded.

"And you..." Morgan said putting his hand on her cheek. "Don't you ever doubt how great of a mother you are. She loves you more than anything and I... I love you so much. And I'm always going to be here for you. Always... no matter how many times you try to push me away" he said and smiled. Emily smiled back.

Prentiss felt a bit better after opening up to him. She never really told anyone that she always felt like she had abandoned her daughter. And it felt nice to let it out and talk about it.

She smiled at Derek and they kissed.  
Little did they know a small girl was listening to the whole thing from the door. Bella had woken up from a bad dream and went looking for them, when she saw they were talking she stayed quiet and just listened. At the end she had tears in her eyes.

"We should go to bed" Emily said.

"Yeah" Derek said sounding exhausted.

Bella turned around to go upstairs and suddenly she tripped and fell making a loud noise. Emily's and Derek's FBI brains answered quickly and soon they were there, both very surprised to find the girl.

"What happened?" Emily asked worried.

"I fell" Bella said standing up embarrassed. They saw and knew she had been listening.

"How long were you here for?" Derek asked trying to hide a smile.

Bella looked down.

"It's okay we're not mad" he said.

"I had a bad dream so I came looking for you" Bella said still looking down. She didn't want to look at them because she felt like crying.

"How much of it did you hear?" Emily asked.

Bella shrugged.

Suddenly Emily noticed a tear rolling down the girl's right cheek. She didn't say anything, she just walked to the girl and hugged her.

"When I was little I didn't feel like you abandoned me, I knew why you couldn't be there all the time. I cried because I missed you and I didn't want you to go" Bella said.

Emily looked at Derek and he smiled.

"But when you came back from France I felt like you did because you didn't know if you would come back. But you were here and I just wanted you here" Bella said crying.

Emily picked her up and they went back to the couch.

"And I'm not like you. I'm not tough. I try to be... like at school yesterday, I tried so hard but I couldn't do it." Bella said holding a sob. "I don't wanna be tough. And I don't wanna grow up. I wanna be little and you to hold me" Bella said and started crying badly.

"Oh baby. You will always be little to me." Emily started rocking her. "And I'll always hold you. No matter how old you are" she said and Bella just kept crying. Emily whispered soothing words in her ear. Derek wrapped both in his arms and said "I've got you. Both of you." And they just sat there.  
Isabella soon stopped crying and asked to sleep on their bed.

"Let's go" Derek said and picked her up. They went upstairs and Bella asked to stop by her bedroom. Derek took her there and she got her blanket and then followed Morgan to his bedroom. She got in between them and hid her face on her mother. Emily held her tight and said "you can tell us anything. No matter how embarrassing or sad or weird it is. I want you to come to us and just tell us. We won't freak out or be mad at you. We want you to be able to come to us"

Bella stayed quiet.

"Do you understand that, baby girl?" Derek asked.

"Yes" Bella said. "I'll try" she added and held her blanket tight.

Emily hugged her tighter and Derek moved closer to them. Soon all three were fast asleep.

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The next morning they were woken up by the alarm clock. Bella still looked a bit down but went to get ready for school. Once everyone was done they met in the kitchen for breakfast. Bella was quiet and seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Derek and Emily exchanged looks and Emily decided to say something.

"Everything okay with you?" She asked the girl.

"Yeah" Bella said taking another bite of her waffle and not looking at Emily.

"Bella what did we say yesterday about you talking to us?" Derek said and Bella looked at him. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Bella looked down and thought if she should tell them or not. She looked back up and decided to just say it.  
"I can't stop thinking about my dad and I'm feeling scared again... I'm scared you'll go to work and you won't come back" she said.

Prentiss got up from her seat and walked to Bella. She kneed down next to the girl and said "you know the team has got my back. Nothing bad is gonna happen"

Bella looked at Morgan and said "if you are protecting her who protects you?"

"The entire team protects each other. We don't work alone, baby girl. We never do." Derek said.

"And I've told you that if you need me home you can just tell me" Emily said.

"I know mom. I want you to help people like you helped Chloe but sometimes I can't get what happened out of my mind and I get scared" Bella said with tears in her eyes.

"What exactly you can't get out of your mind?" Derek asked thinking it was important for her to say.

"You tied up on that chair and... on the floor" Bella said and tears just started rolling. Emily held her hand and Bella jumped in her arms.  
Emily stood up holding the girl tight and walked to the couch. Derek followed.

"That is never going to happen again. You don't have to worry" Emily told Bella.

"He's gone Bella" Derek said taking a spot next to them.

"But what if someone else comes after us" Bella said.

"No one is coming after us, baby" Emily said as she slightly rocked the girl.

"I try to be tough and not think about it but I can't do it sometimes." Bella said. "Sometimes I can have fun or I don't know I just kinda forget a little bit and then it comes back and I get scared. And I try not to be but I can't"

"It's okay to be scared" Emily said.

"But I don't want to be scared, mom. I wanna be like you and Dad and just do things and not be scared" Bella said.

"Oh Bella we get scared too." Emily said.

"A lot of times" Derek added.

"But you never seem scared" Bella told them.

"Because we try not to show, but that's not good for you." Emily said and Bella looked at her. "I get scared a lot baby. Sometimes when I'm alone I feel like someone is just gonna come and get me like Doyle did. And I have to remind myself that he's gone... forever and that he won't come back. He can't come back."

"I feel like that too" Bella said.

"Is that why you always want someone around?" Derek asked.

Bella nodded.

"Bella, sometimes I get scared of other things too. Like the unsubs and even bugs. And that's okay. It's okay to be scared and it's okay to cry. What's not okay is hiding it all in here" Emily said and touched Bella's forehead.

"We don't want you to be keeping all these thoughts up there. We want you to tells us so we can help" Derek said.

"I try to" Bella said.

"We know you do." Emily said. "Look" she said and made Bella sit up straight and face her. "I know that I never let myself be upset in front of you. And the reason why is because I felt like you needed me to be tough. I didn't want you to see me crying or upset. And I was a lot of times. I cried a lot of times when I was with John. But I never let you see that because I didn't want you to be upset or be scared that I wasn't strong and I would get hurt when I was at work." Emily explained. She felt so nervous but so good talking about it. She had kept it in for so long.

"But that was before. You are 11 now. You're a big girl and I know you can understand all of that. I know I can talk to you about things and I don't have to hide how I'm feeling" Emily said. "Right?" She smiled.

"Right" Bella said.

"I know it's hard to talk. It's hard for me too. But I want you to know that you can. You can tells us anything. No matter how hard it is or how scary it is. I want you to tell me just like I will tell you" Emily said.

Bella nodded.

"Do you promise?" Emily asked.

Bella nodded again and Emily hugged her tight. They stayed quiet for a while and then Derek said they had to go.

"Go get your bag" Emily told Bella and the kid headed upstairs.  
Derek kissed Emily on the lips and said "I told you that's what she needed"

Emily smiled and hugged him.

"And look" he said and she stared in his eyes. "I expect you to talk to me. Just like we expect her to talk to us. Do you understand?"

"I do" Emily smiled.

"I'm here no matter what" he said and they kissed again.


End file.
